Impacts of School Improvement Status on Students with Disabilities

Contractor: American Institutes for Research and Survey Research Management

Background/Research Questions:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) is the most recent authorization of a law passed in 1975 to promote a free appropriate public education for children with disabilities. Funded at $12.0 billion in FY 2008, IDEA supports early intervention services for infants and toddlers, special education services for children ages 3 through 21, and early intervening services for students not in special education but in need of academic or behavioral support. IES is conducting studies under Section 664 of IDEA 2004 to assess the implementation and effectiveness of key programs and services supported under the law.

As part of the National Assessment of IDEA 2004 (P.L. 108-446), IES is assessing the feasibility of evaluating impacts from schools being required to adopt programs focused on improving academic outcomes for students with disabilities. The focus of the study is on evaluating the effectiveness of improvement efforts in schools that have failed to make adequate yearly progress for students with disabilities in particular grades and subjects. If feasible, the evaluation would address the following research questions:

• How does the identification of a school as in need of improvement to raise the academic performance of children with disabilities affect subsequent outcomes for students with disabilities, including academic achievement, grade transitions, participation in the general education curriculum, and receipt of special education services in the least restrictive appropriate environment?
• How does the identification of a school as in need of improvement to raise the academic performance of children with disabilities affect school-wide policies regarding the choice of general education curriculum, the assessment of children with disabilities, the provision of special education services, and the hiring and training of staff to assist students with disabilities?
• Does the identification of a school as in need of improvement to raise the academic performance of children with disabilities result in impacts that vary according to school or child characteristics?

Design:

A regression discontinuity design is being considered for the evaluation, as are collection of school- and student-level records and surveys of school principals. Key outcomes for this study are those identified in IDEA 2004: academic achievement including reading and mathematics, participation in the general education curriculum, receipt of special education services, receipt of such services in the least restrictive appropriate environment, and grade transitions. After a feasibility phase for the study, IES will decide whether to move forward with the full evaluation phase.

Duration: 60 months (February 28, 2008, to February 27, 2013), with all options.

Current Status:

The contractor has convened a meeting of Technical Working Group members to discuss the feasibility of various options for the evaluation design, and begun to prepare a report on the feasibility of conducting the evaluation. If the evaluation option is exercised by IES, the contractor will prepare impact reports for release in early 2012 and early 2013. These reports will be announced on http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/.