Project Activities
The research team will leverage a large, novel dataset to document ways that school systems support SWDs across all public schools in Oregon. The dataset contains information on all the staff present in a school, allowing for the identification of approaches schools use for special education staffing (e.g., hiring teachers vs. paraprofessionals). The research team will also estimate segregation measures used in neighborhood research to understand the degree to which students with IEPs are truly integrated into schools. Finally, with a unique data linkage with administrative records at the U.S. Census, the research team will examine how a school’s staffing approach and segregation profile predict a broad array of long-term individual outcomes, including academic (e.g., post-secondary outcomes), labor market (e.g., employment status and earnings), family formation (e.g., fertility timing), independent living, criminal legal system, and safety net program outcomes.
Structured Abstract
Setting
Longitudinal administrative education data will be drawn from all Oregon public K-12 schools, beginning in the 2004-2005 school year and continuing throughout the project period.
Sample
The project’s target population is public K-12 students in the state of Oregon. Each cohort of students includes approximately 45,000 individuals, including approximately 6,000 SWDs. By the final year of the project, the research team expects to have collected data on more than 1.5 million students, including approximately 200,000 students who received disability services.
Research design and methods
The research team will produce descriptive, quantitative analyses (e.g., comparison of means, generalized linear models, latent class analysis, latent trajectory analysis, segregation indices) assessing education systems’ approaches to supporting SWDs and evaluating associations between those system-level factors and SWDs’ integration into key adult education and social systems.
Key measures
This project builds on an existing partnership linking administrative data housed at the Census Bureau with data from the Oregon Department of Education. Available Census Bureau data include income and employment information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); criminal justice contact data from the Oregon Department of Corrections; fertility and mortality information from the Social Security Administration (SSA); household information from the decennial census and the American Community Survey; residential instability; data on foreclosures and housing characteristics from third-party data providers; and data on participation in social safety-net programs. Available schooling data include student demographic characteristics; test scores (Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills); indicators of student supplementary program participation (such as IEP, 504, and English-language learner services) and whether students were identified as gifted; attendance and school disciplinary information; kindergarten entry test scores and pre-K participation (for a subset of cohorts); higher education enrollment and degree data; data on homelessness, housing insecurity, and residential mobility; detailed English language learner information; detailed special education information; and detailed school finance information. Available special education staffing data include information on administrators; general education teachers, staff (e.g., librarians, nurses, and guidance counselors), and paraprofessionals; and special education teachers, staff, and paraprofessionals.
Data analytic strategy
The research team will conduct descriptive and correlational analyses, general multilevel models, latent trajectory analysis, segregation index calculation (e.g., dissimilarity index), and marginal structural models for examining key axes of variation (e.g., variation by student subpopulation, disability type, or school characteristics) in SWDs’ access to education system supports and their long-term academic and life course trajectories.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
SubAwardee(s)
Products and publications
This project will provide new insights on how education systems might best support SWDs and foster resilience in navigating entry into a thriving and healthy adulthood. Project findings will inform future policy and practice in Oregon and beyond, generating new research on education interventions for SWDs as it does so. Products will be designed for researcher, policymaker, administrator, educator, and community stakeholders. These products will include presentations to local educators, students, and their families; policy briefs; academic and practitioner-focused conference presentations; peer-reviewed research manuscripts; and public-facing communications (e.g., op-eds).
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
