Policy and Practice Implications for Secondary and Postsecondary Education and

Employment for Youth With Disabilities

September 18 and 19, 2003

Washington, DC

A National Leadership Summit on Improving Results for Youth

Aligning Transition and SBE: Beyond Square Pegs & Round Holes

Carol A. Kochhar-Bryant& Diane S. BassettNCSET National Leadership Summit on Improving ResultsSeptember, 18-19, 2003

Essential Questions1. How do standards-based education and transition

services differ in their assumptions and principles?

2. Why do standards-based education and transition services need to be bridged or aligned?

Essential Questions

3.How can transition planning serve as a unifying framework for achieving alignment?

4.What strategies can we use to achieve this new alignment?

Mental Stretching: 1. What are the assumptions

in both transition and standards-based systems?

2. What differences are there between transition and standards-based systems?

3. What similarities exist between transition and standards-based systems?

A Short History • 1970s: students not in voc.ed; living at home with parents• 1980s: Research & postschool studies find

high unemployment, dependence, social isolation

• 1984: OSERS: transition a “federal priority”

• 1980s: School-to-Work programs expand

Short History (Cont.)

• OSERS 1991 initiative: 5-year system change projects

• 2000 Report to Congress: 10 years later, transition initiative not as successful as expected

• What happened?

What Happened? What Results?

• Unclear results from the system change projects

• National progress data: big differences in diploma, NAEP math/reading, SAT

• Special education students perform much worse than peers

National Longitudinal Transition Study, 1996

METHOD OF HIGH SCHOOL EXIT

TWO YEARS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

Reached age beyond IDEA service

13% competitively employed

Dropped out 12% competitively employed

Graduated 7% competitively employed

Graduated (non-disabled)

59% competitively employed

NCLB Emphasizes Outcomes and Accountability

Differences in 8th grade state assessments for students with and without disabilities ranged from:

• 23 to 47% in reading • 19 to 42% in math• 25 to 44% in writing(NCEO, 2000)

SO……… IDEA & NCLBAre Getting Acquainted

Placed expectations on SEAs and LEAs to align systems to ensure:

1. Transition planning in the IEP2. Access to the (standards-based) general

curriculum with accommodations3. Strengthen interagency coordination to support

postsecondary goals

No Child Left Behind 2001 Emphasizes:

• Results and accountability• Challenging academic content standards• State assessments• Curriculum standards• High-stakes exams

(28 states)

IDEA Emphasizes:

• Individualized process for educational programming

• Access to the general education curriculum

• Transition services • States’ responsibility

to align each system

Principles for Transition vs SBE System

1. Transition begins early2. Range of domains

including academic.3. Coordinated activities4. Individualized planning

process/ self-determin. 5. Procedural safeguards6. Community-based

learning

1. Common content standards for all

2. Academic & basic literacy outcomes

3. Student performance can be measured

4. Learning standards will unify understanding of what students should know and do

SBE Principles (cont.) 5. Increased standards will:

a. decrease number of ‘low-track’ English, Math, and Science classes; b. increase enrollment in college prep. classes;

c. eliminate tracking;d. improve options and outcomes for youth.

6. Rigorous learning standards will refocus teaching and learning on common understanding of what schools expect students to know and be able to do.

So…..to compare……A TRANSITION

SYSTEM looks at:• Holistic educational

outcomes• Individualized process• Curriculum that

matches postschool goals

• Career-orientation• Interagency

involvement

STANDARDS-BASED SYSTEM looks at:

• Academic and basic literacy skills

• Common rigorous learning standards

• Performance that can be measured validly and reliably through testing

All students have the right….

• To achieve high standards appropriate to their abilities and talents

• To prepare for and to assume their roles as capable citizens

• Of choice and self-determination

• To achieve basic literacy and functional skills that can be measured reliably and validly

• To an individualized approach to their learning and transition to adult life

Students have a right:

• To academic and vocational standards to improve student outcomes

• To engage in blended academic and career/vocational opportunities to enhance futures planning

Transition as a Unifying Framework

“Transition is not just a program or a project or a set of activities that has a beginning and an end. Rather, it is a vision and a goal for unfolding the fullest potential of each individual and it represents a systematic framework for planning to fulfill that potential.”

What are YOUR suggestions for blending standards into a system anchored by transition?

School Districts can:• Blend standards and

transition• Move beyond

standardized tests• Integrate transition into

school improvement, accountability, and data systems

• Provide access to relevant assistive technology and telecommunications

• Use universal design principles to access general education curriculum

• Strengthen partnerships in the community

• Document and share successes

• Do transition because it is right – not for compliance

Educators can:

• Understand and be actively involved in standards-based reform

• Have high expectations for their students• Know how to use a range of accommodations and

alternative measures of performance• See to provide curriculum that is relevant• Embed transition IEPs into a standards-based

system

Educators can also:

• Include families in planning for students• Be sensitive to the cultural context• Offer alternative means of evaluation• Be actively involved in their own education

and planning

Directions for Transition & SBE• GAO Report: Improving outcomes for youth 1. 70% IDEA students--standard diploma or

alternative credential (45% for ED/BD) (2001-02)2. 24% receive vocational services2. Collection and use of data weak3. Many impediments to transition (poor linkages with community, transportation, & lack of community work experiences).

• Promising sites for innovation in blending transition and SBE

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.

Albert Einstein(1879-1955)