A Snapshot of Post-school Outcome Data in Pennsylvania Where do we go from here?

ALLISON R. WALKERLYNDA PRICE

JAMES PALMIEROMICHAEL STOEHER

3RD ANNUAL SECONDARY TRANSITION STATE PLANNING INSTITUTE

MAY 13, 2009

A Snapshot of Post-school Outcome Data in Pennsylvania

Where do we go from here?1

NUMBER OF STUDENTS EXITING SPECIAL EDUCATION

DIGEST of EDUCATION STATISTICS NUMBER OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

EXITING SPECIAL EDUCATION BY:

BASIS OF EXIT

AGE

TYPE OF DISABILITY

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2001-2002Age Total

exiting special education

Graduated with a diploma

Received certificate of attendance

Dropped out

18 151,207 87,936 14,376 20,197

19 62,557 36,059 8,225 8,758

20 17,523 7,579 3,050 2,562

21 and over 15,555 4,965 3,226 923


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2001-2002Type of disability

Total exiting special education



Dropped out

Specific learning disability

350,422 128,776 15,745 45,930

Mental retardation

66,013 17,702 12,147 9,318

Emotional disturbance

95,457 16,539 2,837 17,283

Speech or language impairments

20,495 4,346 584 1,291


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2002-2003

Age Total exiting special education



Dropped out

18 156,966 89,373 19,882 20,294

19 58,691 32,442 8,953 8,525

20 18,206 7,342 3,832 2,714

21 and over 15,325 4,150 3,718 1,115


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2002-2003

Type of disability

Total exiting special education



Dropped out

Specific learning disability

359,616 129,984 23,362 46,646

Mental retardation

68,673 17,846 14,149 9,123

Emotional disturbance

95,658 17,331 3,611 17,798

Speech or language impairments

21,777 4,859 694 1,468

HOW DO THE INDICATORS RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER?

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FRAMEWORKIndicator 13 (Transition)

Percent of youth aged 16 and above with an individualized education program (IEP) that includes coordinated, measurable, annual IEP

goals and transition services that will reasonably enable the student to meet the post-secondary goals.

Indicator 14 (Post-school outcomes) Percent of youth who had IEPs, are no longer in secondary school and

who have been competitively employed, enrolled in some type of postsecondary school, or both, within one year of leaving high

school.

Indicator 1 (Graduation rates)Percent of youth with individualized education programs (IEPs) graduating from high school with a regular diploma compared to

percent of all youth in the State graduating with a regular diploma.

Indicator 2 (Dropout rates)Percent of youth with IEPs dropping out of high school compared to the percent

of all youth in the State dropping out of high school.

POST-SCHOOL OUTCOME SURVEY8

PURPOSE What is the status of our students with disabilities

once they exit special education?

DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT Online survey

AUDIENCE Local education agency administrators, special

education teachers, parents, adult service providers

ANALYSIS Where do we go from here?

PENNSYLVANIA’SPOST-SCHOOL OUTCOME SURVEY

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SAMPLING VARIABLES

CONTENT

EXIT VS. POST-SCHOOL SURVEY

RESULTS

PaPOS Development History

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DESIGNING THE SURVEY TO ACHIEVE TWO GOALS

Collecting information required for federal reporting

Collecting information to inform program improvements resulting in better post-school outcomes for youth with disabilities

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STAKEHOLDER INPUT FOR SURVEY DEVELOPMENT

Exit Survey Developed through a Cross Agency Process with Individual Stakeholder Representation (May 2005)

Survey drafts received Individual Reviews and Ratings

Group Reviews to suggest addition of missing

questions or rewording of questions

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IDENTIFYING A SYSTEM TO SUPPORT DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING

Meeting with national experts at National Transition Summit - June 2005

Advice sought from National Post-school Outcomes Center

Decision to replicate Alabama System designed at Auburn University

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Building the System Decision Points

Administrative Structure to Support Process

Departmental Approvals and Field Directives Use of Penn Data to Pre-Populate

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Building the System Field Technical and Management Support

Procedures o PaTTAN Educational Consultantso Intermediate Unit Transition Consultants

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Pennsylvania’s Survey Sample

1/5 of LEAs annually and 1/5 of Philadelphia High Schools

— Attempt to interview all leavers in LEA

All LEAs have been selected and placed on the sampling plan for the 5 years (i.e. each district participates once every 5 years)

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SAMPLING VARIABLES

District Size Urban, suburban, rural, plus charter

schools Disability Category Ethnicity LRE Status (percent of time served in

regular education classroom) Gender

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SURVEY POPULATIONTarget Population “Youth who had IEPs, are no longer in

secondary school, and who have been competitively employed, enrolled in some type of postsecondary school, or both, within one year of leaving high school”

All states have the same definition of “Population”

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Surveys

Exit SurveyExit Survey for student “leavers” in the current school year (2008-09) – Survey Cycle Year # 4 and Volunteer LEAs

Post-School Survey for former students one year out from school – (2007-08 “leavers”) – Survey Cycle Year # 3 and Volunteer LEAs

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Exit Survey Content Demographic information Reason for leaving Accommodations received in high school Referrals to community agencies and

benefits received Mobility within the community Contact information for post-school follow-

up

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Post-School Survey Content Work history and benefits

Continuing education history and related items

Employment history and related items

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Post-School Survey Content

Probe if not employed or in post secondary training/education program

Benefits received from social service agencies

Mobility within the community

Check on independent living status

PaPOS Results: Post-Secondary

Education/TrainingNationally about 32% of students with IEPs

who complete high school enroll in post-secondary education or training programs compared to 68% of the general student population. (Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Garza, Levine, 2005)

In Pennsylvania 47.5%, of the former students with IEPs who graduated in 2007 and completed a post school survey were in enrolled in a post-secondary education or training program.

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PaPOS Results: EmploymentNationally, the rate of employment for youth

with disabilities is 22% which is substantially below the 63% employment rate for youth in the general population. (Wagner, Newman, Cameto,

Garza, Levine, 2005)

In Pennsylvania 74.6% of the former students with IEPs who graduated in 2007 and completed a post school survey were employed. Of these former students 77.8% were earning at least minimum wage.

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TRANSITION25

EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE Identified by NSTTAC

STUDENT FOCUSED PLANNING For example:

• Involving students in Individualized Education Program Meetings

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT For example:

• Life skills instruction

PROGRAM STRUCTURE For example:

• Provide community based instruction

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?26

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In-School Predictors of Post-School Success

INTERVIEWS32

4 Assumptions Assumption 1: Use of interviews will provide a more

accurate picture of the state by using data from multiple sources

Assumption 2: Qualitative data from interviews will enhance the quantitative data from the predictor studies

Assumption 3: Use of interviews will allow stakeholders to examine predictor information in depth

Assumption 4: Qualitative research will allow stakeholders to look for new unexplored areas

INTERVIEWS

Methodology Purposeful sampling

To recruit participants Pilot interviews

Conducted in an urban, rural, and suburban setting Will all use the same interview protocol that is based on the

predictors and the extant literature base related to Indicators 13 and 14

Avoid yes/no questions Use open ended questions Face-to-face interviews (if possible) Emphasize generalizability and internal validity (whenever possible)

Data analysis Examining themes using the constant comparative method

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PROJECTED IMPLEMENTATION & PRODUCTS

Proposed new and adapted strategies (e.g., strategies and materials based on rural needs)

Adapt or change state policies and procedures (e.g., recommend vocational education as a priority)

Create and/or revise pre and in-service teacher training (e.g., further training for vocational counselors, revise

college preparatory curricula to include predictor variables)

Other projected products: Parent education materials Providing assistance to stakeholder groups

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QUESTION AND ANSWER35

Dr. Allison R. Walker, [email protected]. Lynda Price, [email protected]

Mr. James Palmiero, [email protected]. Michael Stoeher, [email protected]

Documents

A Snapshot of Post-school Outcome Data in Pennsylvania Where do we go from here?