The purpose of this brief is to summarize the methodologies and outcome measures used in Post-School Outcomes follow-up and follow-along studies of adolescents with disabilities. As a requisite in the Request for Proposal for funding of the National Post-School Outcomes Center (NPSO), knowledge development activities were to include: "Conducting a…

This paper presents a model for studying the freshman year experience and identifying predictors of overall satisfaction with the first year in college. Results are based on a survey of 268 freshmen attending a private, selective college in the northeast. Findings confirm the importance of social experiences. Three of five significant predictors…

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the reasons why girls and young women smoke, drink and use drugs, and what increases or lowers their risk of substance abuse. It demonstrates that certain key risk factors for substance abuse are unique to girls and young women and pose a greater threat to them than to boys and young men. This…

This follow-up of the Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study examined the long-term influences of child care experiences on children through elementary school. In the initial 1993 study, 828 children in 176 centers in North Carolina, California, Colorado, and Connecticut were followed from their 3-year-old year in child care…

This report investigated the financial expenditures of states for services for individuals with developmental disabilities and examined the factors that influenced the level of expenditure. Eight multiple-regression models are presented which explain 70 to 88 percent of the variation in states' total expenditures. In addition to the obvious…

This study analyses the impact of democratic decentralisation on the chances of socially excluded groups to participate in newly created local governance institutions--Panchayati Raj Institutions--in three Indian states. This institutional reform included a quota for the disadvantaged--women and lower castes--to ensure their effective…

This study examines graduation rates at public two-year, public four-year and private four-year colleges in the United States. Its major purpose is to account for the variance in graduation rates taking into account several institutional and institutionally-related student financial aid predictor variables. United States colleges and universities…

Any voucher program that is going to have a major impact on a public education system is likely to require an expansion of private schools in order to accommodate increased demand; however, little is known about where private schools open and therefore how a major voucher program might affect private school availability in various communities.…

Logistic and Cox regression methods are practical tools used to model the relationships between certain student learning outcomes and their relevant explanatory variables. The logistic regression model fits an S-shaped curve into a binary outcome with data points of zero and one. The Cox regression model allows investigators to study the duration…

This study examined the role that stress in school and the family plays in early adolescents' adjustment during the transition from elementary to middle school. A total of 773 students (388 boys and 385 girls) from suburban communities in the northeastern United States were assessed at 3 time points: spring of Grade 5, fall of Grade 6, and spring…

This study examined the effects of caregiver stability on children's behavior in day care centers during a period of caregiver turnover. A total of 25 children, ages 2-5 years, in 7 day care centers who encountered caregiver turnover participated in the study. Baseline and turnover observations were conducted and scored, and correlated with…

This paper describes several tools that the regular and special education teacher can use to ensure that modifications for students with hearing impairments in the regular classroom are both available and of sufficient quality. First, the Mainstream Success Index, an aid to interpreting test scores for the purpose of making educational decisions,…

Adolescent drug use in the United States remains higher than that of any other industrialized country. To explore this problem, demographic and psychosocial variables from a survey of 346 pre- and early adolescents were used to predict membership in clusters of students with varying substance use attitudes and expectancies. Cluster analysis…

This book is a compendium of papers presented March 18-20, 1996, at the eighteenth annual Spectrum of Developmental Disabilities course. Research findings are presented that address identification, diagnosis, management, and prognosis of specific reading disability. Individual chapters include: (1) "Dyslexia: The Evolution of a Concept" (John…

In an effort to improve retention and accountability at Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC), in Virginia, a study was undertaken to track first-time student cohorts entering in fall 1988 through fall 1992 and gather data on student demographics and outcomes. The study examined data for 721 students entering in fall 1988, 761 in fall 1989, 824…