From the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)

Characteristics of States' Monitoring and Improvement Practices

NCSER released the first report on the Characteristics of States' Monitoring and Improvement Practices Under IDEA study in October. Under IDEA, states must monitor special education and early intervention programs. Prior to the reauthorization in 2004, IDEA did not explicitly detail monitoring requirements. Provisions in the 2004 reauthorization now require states to monitor priority areas using quantifiable indicators. The current report discusses states' monitoring practices in the year prior to the enforcement of these new requirements. view report

Perceptions and Expectations of Youth With Disabilities

A Special Topic Report of Findings From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2): Released in September, this report provides a picture of the self-representations and expectations of youth with disabilities, how they differ across disability categories and demographic groups, and how they compare with youth in the general population. The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), funded by IES, was initiated in 2001 and has a nationally representative sample of more than 11,000 students with disabilities. This report presents findings drawn primarily from telephone interviews or self-administered mail surveys collected from youth when they were ages 15 through 19. The report addresses questions such as how youth with disabilities describe their feelings about themselves and their lives, their secondary school experiences, their personal relationships, and their expectations for the future. view report

Data Products From PEELS: CD-ROM Data Set Available for Waves 1-3

In September, NCSER released a CD-ROM that contains documentation, an electronic codebook, and restricted-use data files for the first, second, and third waves of data collection for the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS). Data from all the instruments used in the study, including surveys, questionnaires, and direct assessments, are provided in ASCII format. These CD-ROMS are only available to holders of restricted-use data licenses. For more information, please contact Celia Rosenquist at Celia.Rosenquist@ed.gov; 202-219-2024.