2005 State Special Education Outcomes: Steps Forward in a Decade of Change

Author: Thompson, S. J., Thurlow, M. L., Johnstone, C. J., Altman, J. R.
Publisher: National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)
Publication Date: 2005, November
Full text available online at: http://education.umn.edu/nceo/OnlinePubs/2005StateReport.htm

Description

This report summarizes the tenth survey of state directors of special education by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) at the University of Minnesota. The report finds that the number of students with disabilities achieving proficiency on state accountability tests is increasing.

Most states now have at least three years of trend data and enough evaluation data to be able to attribute increased proficiency to several positive efforts by schools and districts. There have been many changes during the past two years as increasing numbers of students receive the instruction they need to meet grade level proficiency.

When states were asked which factors contributed to positive trends found in the survey, at least half of the states credited the following six factors:

• Clearly communicated participation policy
  
• Better alignment of IEPs with standards
  
• Improved professional development
  
• Development and provision of accommodation guidelines and training
  
• Increased access to standards-based instruction
  
• Improved data collection