Using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 results of a propensity score analysis revealed significant causal effects for inclusive placement in high school on postsecondary education outcomes for adolescents with learning disabilities or emotional-behavior disorders 2 years after high school completion. Students earning 80% or more of their academic credits in general education settings (inclusive placement) were twice as likely to enroll and persist in postsecondary education when compared with students receiving fewer credits in inclusive classroom settings. These findings extend results of past descriptive and correlational studies by detecting a direct causal link between inclusion and postsecondary education.

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While experiences of students with disabilities transitioning from high school to college have been well documented, the influence exerted by selected factors on these experiences is less well understood. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, the influence of selected risk and resilience factors on the short-term postsecondary educational outcomes, that is, persistence, of adolescents with specific learning disabilities or emotional/behavioral disorders was examined. A logistic model revealed group differences between individuals with disabilities and peers without disabilities. All selected risk and resilience factors significantly predicted educational persistence. No significant differences were observed between adolescents with specific learning disabilities or emotional/behavioral disorders, but three factors—grade point average, socioeconomic status, and number of friends having plans to attend a 4-year college—were significant predictors of educational persistence for adolescents with disabilities. Implications of these findings are discussed.

This study analyzed the longitudinal development of occupational aspiration prestige scores over a 12-year period (Grade 8 to 8 years postsecondary) to better understand this aspect of career choice from adolescence into adulthood for people with high-incidence disabilities. A curvilinear trajectory was detected where aspirations increased during high school, but decreased after school completion. The only covariate positively associated with the intercept factor was academic achievement. Higher socioeconomic status was associated with a positive change in the slope of aspirations across the 3 time points before school completion. In adulthood, disability status was the only significant factor associated with aspiration change. Findings are considered with regard to the potential influence of special education services and disability on career development and choice.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how principal support, professional learning communities, collective responsibility, and group-level teacher expectations affect 11th-grade student math achievement. Research Methods: Data for this study were from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. This study used a multilevel structural equation model to examine how principal support, professional learning communities, collective responsibility, and teacher expectations at the group level affect school math achievement. Findings: The study identified a model of school-level factors affecting students: Principal support positively influenced both professional learning communities and collective responsibility, which in turn, affected student math achievement via group-level teacher expectations; on the other hand, the impact of principal support on group-level teacher expectation and the direct associations of both professional learning communities and collective responsibility with student achievement were not statically significant. Implications: Focusing on how a school-level mechanism influences student achievement provides a better understanding of sustaining high school performance through school reform initiatives (e.g., principal leadership training, building professional learning communities, or interventions to improve group-level teachers’ expectations). To improve student achievement, the current study emphasizes why principals should give more attention to exerting supportive and egalitarian leadership that can contribute to a school’s positive climate and lead to changing teachers’ instructional behaviors and attitudes, rather than focusing on directive or restrictive leadership and managing behaviors.

A longitudinal sample from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 was used to determine differences in work outcomes between (a) individuals with learning disabilities or emotional-behavior disorders and (b) individuals with or without disabilities. Twelve factors were arranged into individual, family, school-peer, and community categories. Individuals with high-incidence disabilities were more likely to be unemployed, whereas those without disabilities were more likely to be employed for 20 hr or more per week. A limited number of risk factors were significant contributors of work outcomes. Ordered logistic regression revealed individuals with high-incidence disabilities and all women experienced less positive work outcomes. Parental discussions with children about work plans enhanced the likelihood of positive work outcomes, but only for adolescents without disabilities.

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