This report used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) and the National Longitudinal Transition Survey (NLTS) to evaluate outcomes for 11 categories of students with disabilities in comparison with nondisabled students. The study focused on youth in the last years of secondary school and in the 2 years after leaving secondary school and looked at how many young people dropped out of secondary school, the grade levels at which dropouts left, how many of those who dropped out completed general education development (GED) programs, and how many of those who graduated attended postsecondary schools. The study also examined employment patterns and a measure of social adjustment (the arrest rate). Findings indicated that, compared to nondisabled individuals: (1) more students with disabilities dropped out of secondary school; (2) fewer dropouts with disabilities completed GEDs; (3) fewer graduates with disabilities attended postsecondary schools; (4) fewer youth with disabilities had paying jobs; (5) more employed youth with disabilities worked part-time and in low-status jobs; (6) fewer out-of-school youth with disabilities achieved residential independence; and (7) more youth with disabilities were arrested. Extensive appendices include details of the NLTS sample design, NLTS products, the NLSY study analysis, variables used in the report, and disability classifications. (Contains 51 references.) (DB)
Authors
- Assessments and Surveys
- ['National Longitudinal Survey of Youth', 'National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students']
- Authorizing Institution
- SRI International, Menlo Park, CA.
- Peer Reviewed
- F
- Publication Type
- Reports - Research
- Published in
- United States of America
- Sponsor
- Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
Table of Contents
- Overview of the Databases 11
- The National Longitudinal Transition Study 11
- Data for the General Population of Young People 14
- Demographic Characteristics of Young People with Disabilities and of the 15
- General Population of Youth 15
- 3.3- 18
- Comparison of Outcomes 21
- Secondary School Completion 21
- School Completion Status of 15- to 20-Year-Old Exiters 22
- 31.9- 24
- 23.1- 24
- At What Grades Did Dropouts Leave School 25
- Getting a General Education Development GED Certificate 29
- Postsecondary Education 31
- 55.7- 33
- 52.1- 33
- Employment 36
- The Employment Experiences of Secondary School Students 36
- Employment Among Out-of-School Youth 39
- 4.4- 45
- Residential independence 47
- Arrests 52
- Appendix A 57
- Appendix A 58
- Components of the NLTS 60
- Weighting Procedures and the Population to Which Data Generalize 61
- Estimation of Standard Errors 63
- Appendix B 66
- Appendix B 67
- Appendix C 68
- Appendix C 69
- Measurement and Creation of NLTS Variables 72
- Variables from NLSY 76
- Appendix E 81
- Appendix F 82
- Appendix F 83
