This postschool outcome study was conducted in collaboration with transition coordinators at four local education agencies to evaluate the utilization and effectiveness of their school district's secondary education programs and transition services. By means of a phone and record review survey, adapted from one developed by the Ohio systems change project for transition, data were collected on 140 randomly selected special education graduates who were one and three years post graduation. A logistic regression analysis showed that vocational education, work study participation, attending a rural school, and having a learning disability were the best predictors of full-time employment after graduation, whereas participation in regular academics and attending a suburban school setting were the best predictors of postsecondary education. The transition coordinators recorded the amount of time it took to complete the surveys for their graduates and participated in the evaluation of their data. It took longer for urban students and students who were further from graduation to complete the followup surveys.The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) initiated the requirement that public schools develop a transition plan for students with individual education programs (IEPs) aged 16 or older, or younger if appropriate [20 U.S.C. § 1414 (d) (1 ) (A) (vii) (III) ] . This mandate largely stemmed from research in the 1980s showing that young adults with disabilities were experiencing poor postschool integration, high dropout rates, high unemployment, low rates of postsecondary education, and lowquality independent living and community participation outcomes

This study examined the outcomes of 409 students with mental retardation or multiple disabilities from 177 school districts in a Great Lakes state. These students with intellectual disabilities were interviewed at exit and 1 year following graduation. The authors developed and tested three regression models-two to predict full-time employment and one to predict college enrollment after graduation. Although inclusion was a significant predictor of postsecondary education, career and technical education and work study programs did not reach significance as predictors of postschool employment. For these students, gender and minority issues contributed to most of the variance. These findings point to the need for more holistic career and technical education and work study models for these students.

This longitudinal transition study was conducted in collaboration with teachers who interviewed students who graduated from 177 school districts in a Great Lakes state. Special education students were interviewed at exit and 1 year following graduation using a survey based on the National Longitudinal Transition Study. The data were analyzed using logistic regression models that controlled for gender, minority status, and level of disability. The authors developed and tested three regression models: two to predict full-time employment and one to predict college enrollment. Students who graduated from career and technical education and work study programs were more likely to enter full-time employment after graduation, but this relationship was influenced by gender, minority status, and disability. Students who participated in mainstream academics were much more likely to be enrolled in full-time college after graduation, but this relationship was influenced by level of disability.

The researchers examined whether three predictors of post-school employment outcomes identified by the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTA C, 20 J 3) remained significant for five subgroups of students with: (a) learning disabilities, (b) intellectual disabilities, (c) multiple disabilities, (d) emotional disabilities, and (e) other health impairments. The three predictors used in this study were: (a) vocational (career and technical) education, (b) work study, and (c) school-supervised community work while in high school. The researchers conducted a secondary analysis on a sample of5,307 youth with disabilities, of which 4,952 fell into one of the five disability subgroups used in this analysis. The authors found that competitive employment after graduation was predicted by career and technical education and work-study for students with other health impairments and learning disabilities and by school-supervised work experiences for students with multiple disabilities.

In this article the authors examine: (a) statewide implementation of IDEA transition mandates and four other best practices in transition, and (b) factors correlated with their implementation. A survey of transition practices was administered at a statewide meeting for special education supervisors and administrators. Descriptive statistics were used to examine policy and practice implementation and a step-wise multiple regression was used to identify predictors. Respondents reported compliance with an average of 9 of 14 transition policy areas with most compliance found in the paperwork aspects of transition practice. The best predictors of IDEA transition policy compliance were found to be: (a) hours of transition training, and (b) the percentage of non-minority students. Federally funded outreach training was found to be the best predictor for other best practices in transition. The authors raise concerns that IDEA transition compliance efforts appear to be focused more on doing paperwork than on providing transition services. They recommend continued outreach efforts coupled with renewed advocacy regarding transition at the local level.