A Summary of NCSER-Funded Projects in the Area of Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students With Disabilities

Abstract

with identifying and disseminating evidencebased practices for the field. As a result, Test, Fowler, et al. (2009) identified 32 evidence-based instructional practices based on high-quality experimental (i.e., group, quasi, subject-subject) research, and Test, Mazzotti, et al. (2009) identified 16 predictors of in-school activities that were positively correlated with postschool outcomes. Since then, NSTTAC, and now the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT: funded January 2015-December 2019), continued to identify new instructional practices, and Mazzotti et al. (2016) identified an additional four predictors bringing the total to 20. As these secondary transition practices and predictors have been identified and disseminated, a common theme has been recognition of the need for more high-quality experimental and correlational research (

A Framework for Research in Transition: Identifying Important Areas and Intersections for Future Study

“…Fifth, we also advocate for increased levels of funding support for research that allows for a broad examination of issues impacting interventions. While it is certainly laudable that agencies such as the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and nonprofit organizations such as the William T. Grant Foundation continue to prioritize rigorous research designs in transition to adulthood research (e.g., Test et al, 2018), we urge higher levels of funding and lengthier scopes of work to allow for appropriate data collection.…”

“…Second, systematic reviews have addressed specific areas of transition practice (e.g., career and technical instruction, self-determination interventions, peer-mediated supports, skills training). These works summarize the quantity and quality of prior transition research, as well as identify gaps in our knowledge base (e.g., Haber et al, 2016; Mazzotti et al, 2016; Test, Terrell, Clark, & Rusher, 2018). Third, individual studies offer specific recommendations addressing specific gaps or limitations regarding a subgroup of youth in transition, a domain of transition education, or a specific intervention.…”