Ohio Longitudinal Transition
SPECIAL POINTS
OF INTEREST
•
Study (OLTS)
The OLTS was modeled after the National Longitudinal
Transition Study
•
A N N U A L
The Center for Inno-
R E P O R T
S P R I N G
2 0 0 7
THE PURPOSE OF THE OLTS
vation in Employment and Transition
at Kent State University provides
training, data analysis, and technical
assistance to Ohio’s
SERRCs and LEAs
for the implementation of this study
statewide
•
S T A T E
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act requires that each
state develop a State Performance Plan (SPP) to evaluate
efforts to implement the legislative requirements and purposes of the amendments of
2004. Ohio’s SPP outlines 20
target indicators with measurable goals and timelines for
data collection and needed
improvements. Target indicator #14 focuses on measuring
the postschool outcomes of
students with disabilities no
longer in secondary school.
The purpose of the Ohio Longitudinal Transition Study
(OLTS) is to report the findings for target indicator #14 at
school exit and within one
year of leaving high school.
The Center for Innovation
in Transition and Employment
Ohio’s sixteen
SERRCs serve as the
lead agencies for
collecting postschool
data on their local
education agencies
(LEAs)
INSIDE THIS
REPORT
at Kent State University, in
cooperation with Ohio’s Office of Exceptional Children
(OEC) and one of Ohio’s
Special Education Regional
Resource Center (SERRC),
developed and refined a process to collect follow-up data
on several schools’ graduates.
This study served as the blueprint for how the rest of the
state would collect data on
their graduates.
Map of SERRC Regions
This OLTS summary reports on two separate groups
of data. The mandatory data
supports Ohio’s SPP and the
requirements of the IDEIA of
2004. One year of mandatory
data has been collected (2006
graduates) and the first round
of 1 year follow-up will be
collected in 2007, along with
schools chosen to collect exit
data on their graduates. The
voluntary data reported in this
summary includes those
schools who wanted to participate and their data serves
as a supplement to the mandatory data. The voluntary data
includes three years of exit
data and two years of one
year follow-up data.
Funding for this study
comes from the OEC and the
Office of Special Education
and Rehabilitation Services.
Mandatory Sample
& Data
2
Mandatory
Findings
3
Student Ratings of
Services
4
Voluntary Sample
Information
5
•
Voluntary Findings
6
Independent Living and Community and Leisure Activities
Highlights of the OLTS
Employment and Postsecondary Education
•
•
77% of students with disabilities plan to be employed after graduation with 47% expecting fulltime work; and one year follow up data indicates 86% employed with 44% employed full-time.
More than 60% of students expected to be enrolled in some type of postsecondary education
after graduation with a little more than half (36%) actually enrolled at one year.
48% of students with disabilities plan to live with their parents while the rest plan to live on
their own, with friends, with their spouse, or on a college campus
One year follow up indicated that 77% were living with their parents with nearly 90% satisfied
with their living arrangements.
Follow-up Findings
8
•
Contact
Information
8
Student Ratings of Transition Planning and Services Received
•
•
•
Students rated career and technical education and working on their own as more helpful than
any other transition services received while in high school
In general, student felt as though school had prepared them for postschool environments
especially in relation to their employment goals.
PAGE
2
Sample Information (Mandatory 2006)
The disabilities of
As part of the State Performance Plan (SPP) schools were randomly selected to collect exit and
follow-up data once every 6 years. Each school collected data on all graduates with disabilities or
randomly selected students from their population with a target of at least 30 participants. The 758
surveys that were collected on students with disabilities exiting high school were compared to
demographic data reported for graduating students in Ohio in the Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to
Congress (U.S. Department of Education, 2003) and to the Second National Longitudinal Study of
Transition (Wagner & Marder, 2003). The percentage of males in special education for the mandatory Cohort I sample was 64% compared to 57.5% nationally (Javits & Wagner, 2003). (No data
was available regarding gender for states in the Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to Congress). The
disability characteristics of the sample were compared to Ohio students with disabilities graduating
with diplomas or who aged out of special education as reported in the Twenty-Fourth Annual Report
to Congress (U.S. Department of Education, 2003).
students in the exit
samples (N=758)
were very closely
aligned with the
Ohio population
with the exception
of students with
cognitive disabilities.
State Performance Plan Data Findings
Expected Employment and Postsecondary Outcomes
The percentage of the
total exit sample
50
expecting to
40
participate in the
following employment
45
Work Full-tim e
Work Part-tim e
35
4-Yr College
30
2-Yr College
25
Technical School
20
and postsecondary
education activities
15
Military
10
Vocational Rehab.
MRDD
5
0
Expected Fields of Employment
Percentage of
sampled
students
anticipated
Fields of
Employment
25
Food Service
Auto
Com puters
Construction
Industry
Marketing
Clerical
Custodial
Agriculture
Child Care
Cosm etology
Health Care
Hum an Services
Other
20
15
10
5
0
OHIO
LONGITUDINAL
TRANSITION
STUDY
(OLTS)
ANNUAL
STATE
REPORT
PAGE
3
Expected Independent Living Outcomes
50
40
The majority of students
with disabilities are expecting to live at home after
graduation
30
20
10
0
F a m ily
S e lf
F rie nds
S po us e
C a m pus
Transition Services Received
A large
45
percentage of
% of total sample
40
Work Study
35
VOSE
30
the sample
Transition Specialist
participated
25
Option IV/JTC
20
Special Needs CTE
in career and
15
Career Assessm ent
technical
CTE
education
10
Assistive Technology
5
activities and
0
work study.
Services
Plans to Pay for Things
60
Com petitive Work
50
Sheltered Work
Medicaid
40
Fam ily Help
% 30
Disability Benefits
Food Stam ps
20
ODJFS
Rent aid
10
Scholarships
0
Plan to
Applied
Student Loans
PAGE
Ratings of Services Received
4
ACT/SAT prep
Students rated only
services the they received while in high
school. A 4-point
likert scale was used
(4 indicating very
helpful to 1 indicating
not helpful at all)
Help applying to college
Career Assessm ent
MR/DD Services
Vocational Rehab
Extracurricular
Career/Tech Ed
Work on Ow n
Job Shadow ing
In-School Job
Supervised Work
IEP Meetings
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Proficiency Testing
Transition Planning Ratings
School Prepared Me
Students rated transition
planning services on a 4point likert scale. They also
indicated if school prepared
them for further study and
employment
Leisure and Com m unity participation
Independent Living
Postsecondary education
Em ploym ent goal
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Leisure and Community Participation Expectations
70
Percentage of
students
interested in
participation in
community activities
Voting
60
Driver's License
50
Own a Car
Public Transp.
40
Use a Computer
30
Play Sports
Hobbies
20
Religious Activities
Mall and Movies
10
Outdoor Activities
0
OHIO
LONGITUDINAL
TRANSITION
STUDY
(OLTS)
3.5
PAGE
5
Voluntary Information 2004-06
The voluntary sample was drawn from fourteen SERRC regions across the state over a three
The voluntary
sample included
students with disabilities from 14
SERRC regions
across the state
totaling 1516
surveys
year period. The first cohort included 741 students. The second and third cohorts also included additional data from schools that wished to continue voluntary participation in the study each year. The
final total of all voluntary exit surveys included information from 1516 graduating students with disabilities. The percentage of males in special education for the voluntary cohort sample was 59% compared to 57.5% nationally (Javits & Wagner, 2003). The disability characteristics of the sample were
compared to Ohio students with disabilities graduating with diplomas or who aged out of special education as reported in the Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to Congress (U.S. Department of Education,
2003). The disabilities of students in the exit samples (N=1516) were similar when compared with
the Ohio population. Ethnicity data also indicated that African-Americans were overrepresented in
the sample when compared to Ohio data.
Expected and Actual Postschool Outcomes
50
45
Work Full-time
40
Work Part-time
35
4-Yr College
30
2-Yr College
Technical School
25
Military
20
Vocational Rehab.
15
MRDD
10
5
0
Expected
Actual
The expected postschool outcomes for employment and postsecondary education are displayed in the graph above. An increase in
the amount of actual students working part-time than expected prior to graduation can be attributed to students unable to enroll in
postsecondary education or those unable to secure full-time employment.
OHIO
LONGITUDINAL
TRANSITION
STUDY
(OLTS)
PAGE
6
Expected and Actual Fields of Employment
40
percentage of the
35
sample anticipating
30
entrance into various
25
fields of employment
percent
This chart displays the
Food Service
Auto
Computers
Construction
Industry
Marketing
Clerical
Custodial
Agriculture
Child Care
Cosmetology
Health Care
Human Services
Other
20
15
10
5
0
Planned
Current
Expected and Actual Independent Living Outcomes
80
70
About half of the
students expected to
live with parent or
relatives after
Graduation, while almost 80% continued
live at home
60
Family
50
Self
40
Friends
30
Spouse
20
Other
10
0
Planned
Current
Transition Planning Ratings
School Prepared Me
Leisure and Com m unity participation
Independent Living
Postsecondary education
Em ploym ent goal
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
ANNUAL
STATE
REPORT
PAGE
Expected Sources of Income
C o mp et i ve W o r k
Shelt er ed W o r k
D i sab i li t y B enef it s
M ed i cai d
Applied for
F ami ly M emb er s
Plan to
F o o d St amp s
OD JF S
A i d f o r r ent
Scho l ar ship s
0
20
40
60
80
100
Ratings of Services
3.5
3.3
3.1
2.9
2.7
2.5
2.3
2.1
1.9
1.7
Proficiency Tests
IEP Meetings
Supervised Work
In-School Job
Job Shadowing
Work on Own
Classes at College
Career/Tech Ed
Extracurricular
Prepare ACT/SAT
Vocational Rehab
MR/DD Services
Other
1.5
Ratings of Services - Follow-up
•
•
The services and activity ratings remained high for career and technical education (3.40), paid worn on own (3.35), school
supervised paid work in the community (3.10), and extra-curricular activities (3.00).
Moderately rated activities included IEP/Transition meetings (2.98), in-school employment (2.96), and
job shadowing (2.91)
7
PAGE
2
The disabilities of
students in the exit
samples (N=1516)
were very closely
aligned with the
Ohio population
with the exception
of students with
cognitive disabilities.
Voluntary Sample Information
The voluntary sample was drawn from fourteen SERRC regions across the state over a three
year period. The first cohort included 741 students. The second and third cohorts also included additional data from schools that wished to continue voluntary participation in the study each year. The second cohort included 594 students and the third cohort included 130 students. The low number of voluntary students in the third cohort was the result of the mandatory study conducted in the same year. The
final total of all voluntary exit surveys included information from 1516 graduating students with disabilities. The percentage of males in special education for the voluntary cohort sample was 59% compared to 57.5% nationally (Javits & Wagner, 2003). The disability characteristics of the sample were
compared to Ohio students with disabilities graduating with diplomas or who aged out of special education as reported in the Twenty-Fourth Annual Report to Congress (U.S. Department of Education,
2003). The disabilities of students in the exit samples (N=1516) were similar when compared with the
Ohio population. Ethnicity data also indicated that African-Americans were overrepresented in the sample when compared to Ohio data.
State Performance Plan Data Findings
Expected Employment and Postsecondary Outcome Trends
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Full-tim e w ork
Part-tim e Work
2004
2 yr College
2005
4 yr College
2006
Transition & IEP Planning Ratings
Indicator 13 focuses on
the percentage of youth
with IEP’s that included
coordinated, measurable
postschool goals. The
OLTS survey asked questions regarding student
satisfaction of transition
planning activities
OHIO
2004 Data
Students were asked if they were satisfied with their
postschool transition planning (yes/no) and if school
prepared them for employment or further study
2005-06 Data
Students were asked to rate their satisfaction
on a 4 point scale (4 indicating highest rating)
using the same categories
Goal
% Satisfied
Goal
2005
2006
Employment
82.6%
Employment
3.18
3.25
Postsecondary Education
61.1%
Postsecondary Education
2.97
3.27
Independent Living
62.5%
Independent Living
2.96
2.99
Community Participation
51.4%
Community Participation
2.84
2.86
Felt Prepared
97%
Felt Prepared
3.06
3.05
LONGITUDINAL
TRANSITION
STUDY
(OLTS)
ANNUAL
STATE
REPORT
PAGE
3
Levels of Student Engagement
Indicator 14 of the State Performance Plan (SPP) focuses on the percentage of youth who had IEP’s, no longer in secondary
school and who have been competitively employed, enrolled in some type of postsecondary school, or both, within one year of
leaving high school.
51.5
41.5
31.5
21.5
11.5
1.5
Unemployed
Part-time work
Full-time work or any college
Part-time work & College
Full-time work & College
The rates of student engagement (focusing on levels of school enrollment and employment) were investigated using the follow-up
data. Using the follow-up sample (n=204) the data indicated that 22% of the students were not enrolled in school and unemployed;
19.5% were employed part-time; 41% were either enrolled in a postsecondary institution full-time or employed full-time (32 or more
hours per week); 11.7% were working part-time and attending school part-time; and 5.9% were working full-time and attending
postsecondary education at a full-time rate.
Service Rating Trends 2004-06
3.5
Proficiency Tests
Rating Average
3.3
IEP Meetings
3.1
Supervised Work
2.9
In-School Job
2.7
Job Shadowing
Work on Own
2.5
Classes at College
2.3
Career/Tech Ed
2.1
Extracurricular
1.9
Prepare ACT/SAT
Vocational Rehab
1.7
1.5
MR/DD Services
2004
2005
2006
Additional Findings From Follow-up Survey
•
•
•
•
•
•
Employment
The average hourly wage reported for Ohio graduates one year from leaving school was $7.31 per hour compared to the national
average for school completers of $7.20.
Job satisfaction for Ohio graduates was nearly identical to NLTS2 satisfaction rating of 43% “very satisfied” and 18%
“dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied.”
The overall engagement of graduates with disabilities in Ohio indicated that about one-fifth were unemployed and one-fifth underemployed at the time of the interview.
Postsecondary Education
The reasons for not attending postsecondary education as planned fell primarily in the area of financial need. One major discrepancy that was identified for the voluntary sample was the difference between plans to use scholarships and student loans,
and the number of students who had applied for these supports at the time of graduation.
Predictors of Employment and Postsecondary Education
Students expecting to be engaged in employment or postsecondary education were significantly more successful if they had a
paying job before they left high school and passed all areas of the OGT compared to those who did not.
Students with a paying job were over 4 times as likely to be engaged in postschool activities compared to students without prior
employment. Students that passed all areas of the OGT were over 3 times as likely to be engaged in postschool activities compared to those that did not pass all areas of the OGT.
Ohio Longitudinal Transition Study
Report Staff
Full reports focused on the state mandatory sample from 2006 and all
previous voluntary years reports will be available after January 2007
on-line
Phone: 330-672-0722
Alfred Daviso, Ph.D.
Phone: 330-672-0729
E-mail: rbaer@kent.edu
E-mail: adaviso@kent.edu
Rachel McMahan Queen, Ph.D.
Phone: 330-672-0724
Lawrence Dennis
Office for Exceptional Children
E-mail: rmcmahan@kent.edu
E-mail: lawrence.dennis@ode.state.oh.us
Robert Baer, Ph.D.
We are on the web!
WWW.OLTS.ORG
What’s Next for the OLTS?
The OLTS information is now on-line at
www.olts.org. This site contains all state and
SERRC reports produced for the mandatory
data collection process. Schools will also find
information regarding the mandatory data collection process, including a list of schools required
to collect exit and follow-up data each year.
This study was funded by the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education and the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitation Services.
References
Cameto, R., Levine, P., and Wagner, M. (2004). Transition
planning for students with disabilities. A Special
Topic Report of Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Menlo Park,
The OLTS staff and project committee is currently looking to provide additional support online. We hope to develop software that will allow completion of the exit and postschool follow-up surveys on-line for professionals collecting data.
CA: SRI International.
Javits, H. & Wagner, M. (2003). Analysis of potential bias in
the sample of local education agencies (LEAs) in
OLTS is focusing on future
implementation over the
Internet
the National Longitudinal Transition Study – 2
(NLTS2) sample. A report from the National
Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Menlo
Park, CA: SRI International.