EvidenceBased Secondary Transition Practices for Enhancing School Completion James White University

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• Evidence-Based Secondary Transition Practices for
  Enhancing School CompletionJames
  WhiteUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
  and National Secondary Transition Technical
  Assistance Center

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• nsttac is a partnership focused on improving the
  lives of youth with disabilities and their
  families by helping them achieve their desired
  post-school outcomes.
• To do this, nsttac assists states in developing
  replicable, systematic transition programs based
  on evidence-based practices that support and
  improve secondary transition planning, services,
  and outcomes for youth with disabilities.

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• Assist State Education Agencies with collecting
  and using SPP Indicator 13 data to improve
  secondary transition services
• Generate knowledge that provides an
  evidence-based foundation for states to use to
  improve secondary transition services that
  enhance post-school outcomes
•  
• Build capacity of states and local educational
  agencies to implement effective secondary
  transition services that improve post-school
  outcomes
•  
• Disseminate information to state personnel,
  practitioners, researchers, parents, and students
  regarding effective secondary transition services
  that improve post-school outcomes

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Purpose

• Present the findings of a review of the
  literature to identify evidence-based secondary
  transition practices that promote school
  completion for students with disabilities

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Current Trends

• National Center for Educational Statistics data
  indicate dropout rates in 2003-2004 between 4.0
  and 10.3 for all students (NCES, 2004).
• National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 reported
  that 28 of students with disabilities did not
  complete school (NLTS2, 2005).
• Research indicates that students who do not
  graduate have higher rates of unemployment or
  underemployment
• Experience higher rates of unexpected parenthood
• Have higher rates of drug use

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Factors Associated with Positive Postschool
Outcomes

• Participation in vocational education
  (occupationally-specific instruction) during last
  two years of high school.
• Participation in paid work experiences in the
  community during the last two years of high
  school
• Competence in functional academics, community
  living, personal social, vocational, and
  self-advocacy skills
• Participation in transition planning
• Graduation from high school

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(No Transcript)
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Transition-focused Education

• Transition-focused education means guiding
  students towards adult outcomes using academic,
  career, and extracurricular instruction and
  activities implemented through instructional and
  transition approaches and services based on local
  context and student need
• (Kohler, 1998)

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Taxonomy for Transition Programming
Family Involvement
Student-Focused Planning
Program Structures
Student Development
Interagency Collaboration
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Taxonomy for Transition Programming

• Five primary areas and secondary practices of the
  taxonomy
• Student-focused planning
• Student development
• Interagency collaboration
• Family involvement
• Program structure

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Student-Focused Planning

• Student participation in the development of their
  IEP linked to school completion Ensuring IEP
  teams identify and engage responsible agencies,
  resources, and accommodations required for a
  student to successfully achieve positive
  post-school outcomes
• Promoting the value of preparing for, and
  participating in, postsecondary education
• Identifying specific types and levels of
  accommodations and supports a student will need
  to participate in post-school environments
• (Benz, Lindstrom, Yovanoff, 2000 Repetto,
  Pankaskie, Hankins, Schwartz,1997)

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Evidence-based Student Focused Planning Practices

• Teach students to participate in their IEP
  process
• Use the Self-Advocacy Strategy
• Use the Self-Directed IEP

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Practice Descriptions Include

• What is the evidence?
• With whom has it been implemented?
• What is the practice?
• How has the practice been implemented?
• Where has it been implemented?
• How does this practice relate to Indicator 13?
• How does this practice relate to National
  Standards?
• Where is the best place to find out how to do
  this practice?
• Full references

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Research to Practice Lesson Plan Starters
include

• Objective
• Setting and Materials
• Content Taught
• Teaching Procedures
• Method of Evaluation
• Lesson Plan Based on (full reference)

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Student development

• Self-advocacy
• Goal setting and attainment
• Problem solving
• Life skills instruction
• Leisure skill instruction
• Employment skills instruction
• Lack of employment experiences
• Inability to sustain employment
• Inability to attainment of employment goals
• (Repetto et al. 1997) Benz, Lindstrom, and
  Yovanoff, 2000)

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Student development

• Generic vocational programming which consisted of
  classes that focused on employability skills
  across a variety of occupations
• Occupationally-specific programming which
  reflected preparation for a specific trade
• On-the-job programming in which students earned
  credits for being competitive employment Problem
  solving
• (Corbett, Clark, and Blank (2002)

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Student development

• Having a curriculum that was relevant to
  post-school environments
• Opportunities for career exploration
• Making connections with post school settings and
  school-to-work programs
• Students in the check connect intervention were
  more likely to have IEPs
• More likely to have transition components,
  including articulated postsecondary goals
  regarding education
• Community participation, and recreation
  activities
• Transition services in the IEP
• (Tobin, Sugai (2002) Sinclair, Christensen,
  Thurlow, 2005)

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Evidence-based Student Development Practices

• Teach self-advocacy skills
• Teach students job specific employment skills
• Teach self-determination skills
• Teach functional life skills
• Teach functional reading sight words
• Teach functional math skills
• Teach purchasing skills
• Teach home maintenance skills

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Program Structure

• More interesting classes, like welding,
  agriculture, or ROTC
• More classes with age peers without disabilities
• Creative approaches such as pay me forcoming to
  school
• Shortened school days
• Alternatives to in and out of school suspensions,
  which remove students from instruction
• Additional academic and behavioral support from
  school staff
• Student-centered services that focused on
  outcomes for students
• (Kortering et al. 2002 Repetto et al. (1997)

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Evidence-based Program Structure Practices

• Structure programs to extend services beyond
  secondary school
• Provide Community-Based Instruction
• Check and Connect

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Interagency Collaboration

• Collaboration between school staff and community
  agencies to wrap services around a student and
  his/ her family including behavior programming
• Community agency referral services for families
• Working with community businesses so that
  curricula are relevant
• Teamwork and team building instruction for school
  and community personnel
• Coordinate and integrate academic and vocational
  services
• (Martin et al. 2002) Repetto et al. 1997)

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Family Involvement

• Case management services to families
• Transportation to meetings
• Home visits
• (Sinclair et al., 2005)
• Empowering families through advocacy activities
• Attention to family needs
• Mental health services
• Medical services
• (Repetto et al. 1997)

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• Why Do Age Appropriate Transition Assessment?

• Efficient process that is predictive
• Great way to develop rapport w/ students
• Students enjoy it
• Generates useful and relevant information
• Legally required in IDEIA 2004 (see
  www.nsttac.org)
• Helps you understand the student in a new way

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Definition of Transition Assessment

• Transition assessment is the ongoing process of
  collecting data on the individuals needs,
  preferences, and interests as they relate to the
  demands of current and future working,
  educational, living, and personal and social
  environments.

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Categories of Assessment

• Informal
• Formal

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Areas of Assessment

• Self-Determination Skills
• Transition Skills
• Vocational Interests Skills

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Areas of Vocational Assessment Information

• Achievement and Mental Ability scores from the
  current psychological report
• Paper/pencil tests in the areas of interests,
  personality, career readiness, work adjustment,
  and aptitude
• Physical functioning (observation or tested)
• Family and student background (interview or
  survey)
• Job Samplings recreate community jobs
• Work Site Evaluations

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Levels of Vocational Assessment

• Level 1 Screening
• Level 2 Exploration
• Level 3 Vocational Evaluation
• (Leconte, 1999)

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Transition Assessment Guide

• Providing background information on assessment
• Providing access to resources and information
• Providing sample assessment tools
• Getting feedback on how to do it better
• http//www.nsttac.org/?FileNametagTransition

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AIR Self-Determination Assessment

• Parent Version
• Teacher Version
• Student Version
• Available at
• www.ou.edu/zarrow/sdetermination.html
• www.sdtac.uncc.edu
• Cost free

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Arc Self-Determination Assessment

• University of Kansas, Beach Center
• www.beachcenter.org
• Click on downloads, then select books, manuals,
  reports - full pubs
• Cost free

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ChoiceMaker SD Assessment

• Curriculum Referenced Assessment
• Choosing Goals
• Participating in IEP Meetings
• Taking Action on Goals
• Sopris West (search by author Martin)
• www.sopriswest.com
• Cost 12.95 for 25 copies

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The Self-Determination Assessment Battery

• Hoffman, Field, Sawilowsky (1996, 2005)
• measures cognitive, affective, and behavioral
  factors related to self-determination
• Related to the Steps to Self-Determination
  curriculum (Field Hoffinan, 1996)
• five components Know Yourself, Value Yourself,
  Plan, Act, and Experience Outcomes and Learn
• five instruments in the battery The
  Self-Determination Knowledge Scale (forms A and
  B), The Self-Determination Observation Checklist,
  The Self-Determination Student Scale, The Teacher
  Perception Scale, and the Parent Perception Scale
  
• Pro-Ed OR The Council for Exceptional Children
• Information about the Self-Determination
  Assessment Battery is available from the
  Self-Determination and Transition Projects Office
  sdtalk_at_wayne.edu.

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Casey Life Skills

• Web based and FREE!!!
• Spanish or English, with numerous supplemental
  assessments
• Youth and caregiver formats
• Automatically scored and sent to you
• Can obtain class summaries
• Provides different levels of questions for
  students across functioning levels
• www.caseylifeskills.org

(Martin, 2007)
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Implications for Practice

• The current study provides additional support
  for
• Mentoring
• Academic engagement
• Cognitive-behavioral strategies
• (Dunn et al., 2004 Kemp, 2006 Sinclair et al.,
  2005 Sinclair et al., 1998 Corbett et al.,
  2002) Martin et al., 2002)
• Evidence-based support for secondary transition
  practices
• Completing vocational education coursework
  including career awareness, career exploration,
  generic and occupationally-specific coursework,
  and paid employment
• Involving students in their IEP/transition
  planning process Changing program structures such
  as additional electives (Kortering et al., 2002)
  and reducing class sizes and increasing
  alternative education programs (Benz et al.,
  2000 Corbett et al., 2002 Kemp, 2006 Malian
  Love, 1998 Martin et al., 2002 Benz et al.,
  2000 Sinclair et al., 2005 Martin et al., 2002)

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To Contact Us

• David Test, dwtest_at_email.uncc.edu
• James White, jawhite_at_uncc.edu
• NSTTAC (www.nsttac.org)
• 704-687-8606
• 704-687-6327(TTY)
• 704-687-2916 (fax)
• chfowler_at_email.uncc.edu