Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Purpose: Research suggests that youth with disabilities are at-risk for a host of maladaptive outcomes in adulthood if they do not receive special education services in their K-12 education. Despite this support for special education and over 30 years of intervention, many students in special education still struggle with lower high school graduation rates, lower rates of college attendance, and downward economic mobility as adults. Additionally, some policymakers and researchers have levied serious charges against special education as an ineffective and ultimately racially biased program that separates minority children from mainstream education. Although these difficulties are pronounced, less is known about what types of services lead to differential outcomes for youth with disabilities. This project examines how youth who have been placed in special education fare in their post-high school transition compared to youth who were placed in remedial education classes and compared to youth who have disabilities, but have remained in general education classes. Methods: Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this study compared the transition outcomes of three groups of former high school students who have some type of learning difficulty: 1) youth who participated in special education classes (n = 506), 2) youth who were placed in remedial education classes (n=383), and 3) youth with disabilities who remained in general education classes (n=594). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to compare outcomes on educational attainment, employment, marriage, parenthood, high alcohol use, and arrests. Results: Bivariate analyses show marked differences in the transition outcomes of the three groups of youth in this study. Youth in the remedial group were more likely to get a GED, have a college degree, have ever been employed, get married, and have children during the study period than youth in the other groups. Youth in the special education group were most likely to get a high school diploma, but not enroll in college. Multivariate analyses suggest the special education group maintained a higher rate of attaining a high school diploma, without college enrollment or completion. The remedial group youth had the highest rate of marriage and the disability group had the greatest likelihood of obtaining a college degree. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of high alcohol use or arrests. Disability type, age, gender, poverty, and race were also related to transition outcomes. Implications: With the 2004 IDEA re-authorization, increased attention is being given at federal and state levels to “response to intervention” models that allow schools to provide intensive remedial services to students in early elementary grades and bypass special education altogether. This approach has been applauded by civil rights advocates as a way to decrease minority overrepresentation, and has been lauded by reading experts who believe that early intervention is critical. This study suggests alternatives to special education may lead to better post-high school outcomes among this population. These results can provide further direction in designing better early remedial intervention research with the hopes of improved programming for all children with learning difficulties.