The purpose of the DESK (Developing English Skills and Knowledge) Program at Louisiana State University (LSU) is to help deaf and hard of hearing students make a smooth transition from high school to postsecondary institutions and, in doing so, to ensure their academic and professional success. This handbook documents, in a "how-to"…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) is the fifth in a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) secondary longitudinal studies. The core research questions for HSLS:09 explore secondary to postsecondary transition plans and the evolution of those plans; the paths into and out of science, technology, engineering,…

Rising remediation rates among college students are leading to increased time for completion of degree, additional costs for students and colleges, and financial aid being used on courses that do not count towards a degree. In response to these issues, in 2007 the state of Illinois passed the College and Career Readiness Act, Public Act 095-0694,…

This best practices piece is based on key research into high school transition strategies. It draws on two studies of high school reform models conducted by MDRC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization, which shed light on promising strategies to support ninth-grade students. Increasing the capacity of high schools to provide extra help…

Beginning your college education means you'll be exploring a new place, making new friends, learning new things and setting your own priorities. You are going to face a lot of big changes in a short time. That's exciting--and challenging. The more prepared you are for college when you get there, the more ready you'll be to address these new…

The project conducted research and developed a demonstration model aimed at helping schools and families plan transitions for young children moving from special preschools to less specialized settings including regular preschools and kindergarten. The model's target population consisted of 40 handicapped children (ages 3-5) enrolled in three…

The directory provides an annotated listing of 208 projects funded under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Secondary and Transition Initiative since 1984. Data were obtained from a 1989 questionnaire of project characteristics as well as from original project grants and previous years' profiles. The introduction describes the…

The directory lists grants funded under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) Secondary and Transition Initiative. Information was obtained from a January, 1988, questionnaire of projects, from original grant applications, and from the previous year's project profiles. The compendium includes five sections: (1) an…

Autism presents parents and families with many challenges under normal circumstances. Autism in a military family magnifies many of those challenges and adds a few more that are unique to the demands of military life and service, further complicating an already complex neurobiological disorder. Military sources indicate that more than 13,000…

Part of a series, this document reports on a study to determine the current status of instrumentation and practices of student assessment in programs concerned with the transition of secondary special education students from school to work or to postsecondary education. The study surveyed the 114 federally funded (Office of Special Education and…

This research project, called Charger Connection, was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot transition program for incoming high school freshmen at Elkhart Memorial High School (Indiana). The Charger Connection class was developed to help students overcome problems associated with the transition from middle school to high school.…

This program for reintegrating students with disabilities into the mainstream involves data-based decisions during the following phases: long-range planning, assessing the less restrictive setting, approximating new placement routines, assessing student readiness, the transition, followup, and evaluation. A checklist for assessing the less…

This study identifies and evaluates the pathways available from school to vocational education and training and to work, for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Research involved interviews with seven young people from Victoria who had either just completed secondary school and were enrolling in a VET course, or had completed a course and…

The final report documents a 2-year project which trained volunteers to help preschool disabled and non-disabled children work together as part of a transitioning and mainstreaming effort. The report describes project development, implementation, and dissemination. Specific objectives included the following: form an advisory council; orient staff,…