Busy educators are often faced with a dilemma--staying up to date with evidence-based practices and initiatives that support their professional growth while combating a constant barrage of superficial ideas from other contexts. Continuous improvement approaches to change offer methods for testing new ideas and adapting them to local contexts. If…

Oakton Community College (Oakton) launched a Pathways to Results (PTR) project for the first time in 2014, a decision that converged with the launch of an all-college student success team with the goal of making evidence-based decisions to significantly improve student success. Oakton chose to work initially on its manufacturing program.…

Graduation rates from community colleges in the United States are quite low overall, but they are even lower for the many entering students who need some remediation. This brief provides a first look at an evaluation of CUNY Start, an innovative developmental education program at the City University of New York (CUNY) that was designed to improve…

Based on the increasing numbers of students with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) entering colleges and universities, many schools are at a loss for how to support students needing services outside the typical academic assistance often required by students with disabilities. The diagnostic features and psychiatric characteristics…

The Condition of Education in the Commonwealth Action Guide presents an overview of the current policy landscape and context in areas of need, along with suggested program steps for bringing successful practices to scale. The Action Guide and the larger Condition of Education in the Commonwealth project provides a common foundation for more…

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.…

Students with intellectual disability are often served in community-based services to promote effective adult outcomes in employment, community inclusion, and independent living (Gaumer, Morningstar & Clark (2004). "Beyond High School" (Wehmeyer, Garner, Lawrence, Yeager, & Davis, 2006), a multi-stage model to promote student…

This study used multilevel modeling to examine the extent to which secondary special educators promoted nonacademic behaviors that were positively linked to postschool outcomes for students with disabilities, including self-advocacy, goal setting and attainment, disability awareness, employment, and utilization of supports. Respondents were 248…

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED-…

An increasing number of jobs in today's workforce require postsecondary education, yet large numbers of workers lack the essential skills and credentials to fill these jobs. The result is that many workers remain underemployed, reaching a ceiling early in their working careers. In 2007, the Joyce Foundation launched the Shifting Gears initiative…

This report provides initial results of Illinois' Shifting Gears Initiative that operated between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009. This mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) evaluation sought to accomplish three goals: (1) to assess program and student outcomes for two models (adult education and developmental education) for two target groups…

This grounded theory study employed in-depth interviews with nine student/parent dyads from eastern Canada. Youth with disabilities, aged 16 to 21, contributed narratives describing high school transitions. Shared experience that transcends disability categories produced powerful results. Three categories emerged: (1) transition facilitators; (2)…

This study evaluated a comprehensive transition model for students with disabilities known as TASSEL (Teaching All Students Skills for Employment and Life) in two North Carolina school systems. Analysis of social validity data and student outcome data for 76 students found that consumers were satisfied with TASSEL transition services and student…

Project MAP (Model Accounting Plan) is a demographic accounting model for monitoring the transitions of special education students through the school system and after graduation. MAP predicts the students' paths, considering the student's age, handicap, and instructional setting. Discussed are a pilot test and the model's potential benefits and…

Four articles comprise this monograph on interventions which lead to employment of youths with disabilities. Articles are based on investigations and demonstrations sponsored by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). In "Promoting Employment for Youths in Transition: Outcomes, Activities, and Indicators,"…