an overview of findings from the special education elementary longitudinal study (seels) dr. mary...
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An Overview of Findings from the Special Education
Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS)
Dr. Mary WagnerDr. Jose Blackorby
SRI International
OSEP Project Directors MeetingWashington, DC
July 17, 2007
SEELS:• Focuses on individual student characteristics and experiences• Generalizes to all students receiving special education ages 6
to 12 in 1999-2000 as a group• Generalizes to each disability category and each single-year
cohort separately• Addresses a comprehensive conceptual framework• Uses multiple data collection approaches• Is longitudinal—follows students for
5 years (2000-04)• Addresses interests of multiple
audiences and analytic purposes
SEELS sample
• 11,500 students (800-900 per disability category
• 4,000 schools• 7,000 teachers
Disability category distribution of SEELS sample (weighted)
Percentage
Learning disabilities 41.5
Speech/language impairments 32.7
Mental retardation 8.8
Emotional disturbances 5.9
Hearing impairments 1.2
Visual impairments .4
Orthopedic impairments 1.3
Other health impairments 4.5
Autism 1.5
Traumatic brain injuries .2
Multiple disabilities 1.8
Deaf-blindness <1
Data collection components• Parents
– Telephone interviews (CATI) • Students
– Direct assessment of reading and math skills (Woodcock Johnson III, Standard Reading Passages)
– In-person interview regarding attitudes toward school, friendships, and self-concept
• Mail surveys of:– Each student’s primary language arts teacher about
curriculum, instruction, and student performance in that classroom
– School staff best able to describe each student’s overall school program (often special educators) to describe program (e.g., settings, related services), accommodations, participation in state tests, and performance (e.g., days absent)
– School principals regarding school characteristics and policies and aggregate measures of school performance
Data collection timing
Data Collection ComponentWave 12000-01
Wave 1 2001-02
Wave 22002-03
Wave 22003-04
Wave 3 2004-05
Parent interview √ √ √Direct assessment/ student interview
√ √ √
School surveys √ √ √
Web-based dissemination of:Overview reports– e.g., What Makes a Difference? Influences
on Outcomes for Students with Disabilities
Special topic reports– e.g., A National Profile of Students with Visual
Impairments in Elementary and Middle Schools
Data tables– All data items from all data sources and data
collection waves, provided for all students with disabilities and those who differ in disability category, age, grade (for school surveys), gender, race/ethnicity, and household income
Design documents and materials– e.g., data collection instruments
www.seels.net
Today’s agenda
Summarize the “headlines” for SEELS findings, Wave 1 through Wave 3 regarding:
– Student characteristics
– Parents’ expectations and involvement
– Students’ out-of-school activities
– General education participation
– Classroom experiences
– Academic performance
– Social adjustment
Student characteristics: Functioning
• Each disability category contained students with a wide range of competencies in a variety of functional domains– Self-care skills
– Functional cognitive skills
– Communication skills
– Additional disabilities
Self-care skills* scale scores
7
3
2
11
18
3
8
13
21
24
19
13
37
30
19
44
46
37
58
40
44
64
81
87
56
67
80
45
35
59
34
47
35
12
21 772
Specific learning disabilities
Speech/language impairments
Mental retardation
Emotional disturbance
Hearing impairments
Visual impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Other health impairments
Autism
Traumatic brain injury
Multiple disabilities
Deaf-blindness
Low Medium High
Percentage of students with skills rated:
All disabilities
*Skills include dressing and feeding oneself independently.Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interview, 2000
Functional cognitive skills* scale scores
8
7
40
11
11
29
21
13
42
28
50
80
6312
69
61
53
62
65
54
56
58
48
61
40
14
25
23
32
6
28
23
17
23
28
10
11
9
7
All disabilities
Specific learning disabilities
Speech/language impairments
Mental retardation
Emotional disturbance
Hearing impairments
Visual impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Other health impairments
Autism
Traumatic brain injury
Multiple disabilities
Deaf-blindness
Low Medium High
*Skills include telling time on an analog clock, counting change, reading common signs,and looking up a phone number and using the phone.Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interview, 2000
Ability to carry on a conversation
All disabilities
Specific learning disabilities
Speech/language impairments
Mental retardation
Emotional disturbance
Hearing impairments
Visual impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Other health impairments
Autism
Traumatic brain injury
Multiple disabilities
Deaf-blindness
With a lot of trouble or not at all With a little trouble As well as typically developingsame-age children
Percentage of students conversing:
10
5
5
27
8
19
14
15
11
64
19
41
79
25
23
24
37
26
40
15
23
28
25
39
30
8
65
72
70
36
65
41
71
62
62
10
42
29
13
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interview, 2000
Student characteristics: Demographics
• Students with disabilities were disproportionately likely to live in poverty and to differ from the general population in racial/ethnic background
23
29
11
13
16
24
19
13
24
20
16
32
Living in poverty
More than $75,000
$50,001 to $75,000
$25,000 to $50,000
$15,000 to $24,999
Less than $15,000
Percent
Household income of students with disabilities and students in the general population
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000; U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Students withdisabilities
Generalpopulation
Students’ racial/ethnic backgrounds
62
67
54
57
64
62
65
77
66
57
53
18
16
35
27
14
18
18
13
17
16
12
9
13
16
15
14
7
11
11
14
2
3
2
5
4
5
3
2
Speech/language impairments
Mental retardation
Emotional disturbance
Hearing impairments
Visual impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Other health impairments
Autism
Traumatic brain injury
Multiple disabilities
White African American Hispanic Other
Specific learning disabilities
5
1
Percentage of students who were:
28
30
2
2
61
63
17
19
17
14
5
4
General population
All disabilities
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000
Individual and household characteristics of students with disabilities, by household income
Household Income
$25,000or less
$25,001to
$50,000
Morethan
$50,000Percentage who were:
White 41.9 71.1 84.7
African American 32.5 12.9 6.0
Hispanic 20.7 12.3 9.7
Percentage living with both parents 47.8 76.8 90.8Percentage reporting any other member ofhousehold has a disability
45.9 40.4 30.4
Percentage with mothers who were teens atchild’s birth
13.4 10.3 3.6
Percentage whose mothers were not highschool graduates
34.8 12.1 3.8
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000
Parents’ expectations and involvement
• The families of students with disabilities had high expectations for their children’s futures and worked hard to support their education and development
Parents’ expectations for the future educational attainment of students with disabilities
65
32
20
4 26
7
22
36
70
Graduating from high schoolwith a regular diploma
Definitely will Probably will Definitely won’t/probably won't
27
46
44
Graduating from a 2-year orcommunity college
Enrolling in any post-secondary school
Graduating from a 4-yearcollege or university
Percentage of students with level of expectation:
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000
Parents’ expectations were:• Highest for students with
– Learning disabilities– Speech/language impairments– Visual impairments– Hearing impairments – High household incomes
• Lowest for students with – Mental retardation– Autism– Multiple disabilities– Deaf-blindness– Low household incomes
• Positively associated with– Higher grades– Higher test scores in reading– Being closer to grade level in reading and math– Higher likelihood of belonging to organized groups
Frequency of parents helping with homework
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000
< Once a week, 4%
>=5 times a week, 55%
Once or twice a week, 14%
3 or 4 times a week, 27%
Frequency of parents reading to students
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000
< Once a week, 9%
Every day, 29%
Once or twice a week, 29%
3- 6 times a week, 33%
Parent involvement• About 9 in 10 students with disabilities had parents who
talked with them regularly about school.• Students with disabilities were more than three times as
likely as students in the general population to receive homework help frequently.
• Almost all aspects of parent involvement were lower for older students with disabilities (10 through 12 vs. 6 through 9).
• Students with emotional disturbances were among the least likely to be read to or helped with homework frequently.
• Parents who attended trainings or programs for families of children with disabilities provided higher levels of support for their children’s education.
• Of those who attended trainings, those who went to OSEP-funded Parent Training and Information Center program were more likely to provide very high support for learning at home than parents who went to other kinds of trainings.
Life outside the classroom
• Children withdisabilities spenttheir out-of-schooltime in much thesame ways aschildren in thegeneral population.
Frequency of seeing friends outside of school
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000
Sometimes, but not
weekly, 26%
Never, 9%
Once a week, 13%
6 or 7 days a week, 12%
2 or 3 days a week, 26%
4 or 5 days a week, 14%
Friendship interactions
• About 9 in 10 students with disabilities had been invited to other children’s social activities in the past year.
• About one-fifth of students with disabilities interacted with others by e-mail on in chat rooms.
• About one-third of students with disabilities received phone calls from peers several times a week.
• Students with learning disabilities, speech/language impairments, emotional disturbances, or other health impairments had the most frequent friendship interactions.
• Students with autism were the least likely to interact with friends—12% did not interact with friends in any of these ways.
Participation in extracurricular activities
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interviews, 2000, National Survey of America’s Families 1999.
50
35
83
30
53
29
30
73
Students with disabilities
Volunteer activities*
Community-sponsoredgroups
School-sponsored groups*
Lessons
Any extracurricular activity
Percentage participating in activity
General population
* Data for general population not available.
Extracurricular activities
• About 3 in 10 students with disabilities took lessons or classes outside of school (e.g., art, music).
• Students with other health impairments were the most likely to take part in extracurricular group activities; those with speech/language or orthopedicimpairments were the most likely to volunteer.
• Students with mental retardationwere among the least likely to take part in extracurricular activities.
• Students with disabilities from wealthier households and white students were more likely than less affluent or minority peers to take part in groups, take extracurricular lessons or classes, or volunteer.
General education participation
• Students with disabilities overwhelmingly attended regular schools (96%), and most were instructed in both general and special education classrooms.
Average percentage of classes taken in general education settings by students with disabilities
45
46
75
65
68
60
52
38
74
74
Multiple disabilities
Traumatic brain injury
Autism
Other health impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
Emotional disturbance
Mental retardation
Speech/language impairments
Specific learning disabilities
All disabilities
26
92
Average percentage of classes
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Student’s School Program Questionnaire, 2001
Language arts and nonacademic general education class participation of students with disabilities
24
42
39
62
60
60
66
42
23
88
52
61
58
78
74
97
87
83
85
85
83
92
91
Multiple disabilities
Traumatic brain injury
Autism
Other health impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
Emotional disturbance
Mental retardation
Speech/language impairments
Specific learning disabilities
All disabilities
Language arts in general education Nonacademic in general education
95
Percentage of students
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Student’s School Program Questionnaire, 2001
General education participation makes a difference• Independent of other differences between that were
considered in the analyses, students with disabilities who spent more of their instructional time in general education classes:
– Scored higher on passage comprehension tests and read considerably faster.
– Had stronger math performance.
– Tended to receive lower grades than less included students
– Averaged fewer days absent from school and fewer disciplinary actions.
– Were more likely to belong to extracurricular school or community groups.
Classroom experiences
• Instructional settings helped to shape the experiences of the students with disabilities in them in terms of:– Classroom composition
– Activities and groupings
– Accommodations andsupports provided
Characteristics of students with disabilities in general and special education language arts classes
85
32
24
82
71
14
13
78
18
15
15
64
61
25
12
64
28
Percentage whose parents reportedstudents had high levels of:
Self-care skills
Functional cognitive skills
Social skills
Percentage in excellent orvery good health
Percentage who were:
White
African American
Hispanic
Living with two parents
Living in poverty
General education Special education
66
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Language Arts Teacher Questionnaire, 2001
Adults in general and special education classrooms
• Compared with students with disabilities in general education classes, those in special education language arts classses were:
– Less likely to have a fully credentialed teacher (83% vs. 90%).
– More likely to have general and special eduators co-teaching.
– More likely to have one or moreadults in the classroom, in additionto their teacher(s).
• Almost all general education teachers (96%) who had studentswith disabilities in their classreported getting some form of support in working those students.
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Language Arts Teacher Questionnaire, 2001
Teachers’ reports of frequent language arts activities of students with disabilities in general and special education language arts classes
61
37
49
40
61
30
28
61
58
32
28
70
56
47
Silently
Aloud
Literature
Informational materials
Percentage of studentswho frequentlypracticed/learned:
Vocabulary
Phonics/phonemic skills
Sight word reading
General education Special education
Percentage of studentswho frequently read:
Percentage of students
46
46
59
69
54
49
47
57
Respond toquestions
Participate in classdiscussions
Work independently
Take quizzes/tests
Percent
Teachers’ reports of the participation of students with disabilities in general and special education language arts classes
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Language Arts Teacher Questionnaire, 2001
General education
SpecialEducation
Percentage who frequently:
46
47
49
89
82
57
Respond toquestions
Participate in classdiscussions
Read aloud
Percent
Teachers’ reports of the participation of students with disabilities and other students in general education language arts classes
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Language Arts Teacher Questionnaire, 2001
Other studentsin class
Students withdisabilities
Percentage who frequently:
Accommodations and supports in general education classrooms
• Overall, 85% of students with disabilities in general education language arts classes received some form of accommodation or support; on average, six. Most often they were:
– More time to take tests (60%) or assignments (58%).
– Shorter or different assignments (37%)
– Tests read to student (35%).
– Modified tests (33%).
– More frequent feedback from teachers.
– Slower-paced instruction.
• Overall 64% of students with disabilities in general education language arts classes had teachers who said the support provided the student was “very adequate,” 29% said “somewhat adequate,” and 7% said “somewhat” or “very inadequate.”
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Language Arts Teacher Questionnaire, 2001
Academic performance
• The academic performance of students with disabilities varied greatly within and across disability categories, but generally was low.– Reading comprehension – Mathematics calculation
• The academic skills of students with disabilities improved over time, but not enough to close the achievement gap with students in the general population.– Oral reading fluency – Letter-word identification
Reading comprehension scores of students with disabilities
85
73
74
61
61
48
65
61
92
44
73
63
10
15
14
23
19
26
20
25
6
33
19
23
3
10
8
11
13
17
9
9
1
15
6
9
2
2
5
5
7
10
7
5
1
8
3
5
Multiple disabilities
Traumatic brain injury
Autism
Other health impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
Emotional disturbance
Mental retardation
Speech/language impairments
Specific learning disabilities
All disabilities
0-25 26-50 51-75 76+
Percentage receiving scores in percentile range:
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Direct Assessment, 2001
Mathematics calculation scores of students with disabilities
74
56
51
46
44
28
37
43
84
22
44
40
14
20
27
30
24
25
27
30
11
31
35
31
5
12
12
13
20
23
18
19
25
11
16
6
13
11
11
13
24
18
8
2
23
10
14
Multiple disabilities
Traumatic brain injury
Autism
Other health impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
Emotional disturbance
Mental retardation
Speech/language impairments
Specific learning disabilities
All disabilities
3
Percentage receiving scores in percentile range:
0-25 26-50 51-75 76+
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Direct Assessment, 2001
Oral reading fluency rates of students with disabilities, 2001 and 2004
82
91
107
117
108
108
129
119
69
123
103
51
67
80
84
77
83
93
87
46
87
70
Multiple disabilities
Traumatic brain injury
Autism
Other health impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
Emotional disturbance
Mental retardation
Speech/language impairments
Specific learning disabilities
10976All disabilities
20042001
Average correct words per minute
Changes in oral reading fluency
• In 2001, when more than half of students with disabilities were in fifth through seventh grades, on average, they read at a rate equivalent to students in the general population early in third grade.
• Oral reading fluency rates increased significantly—by an average of 33 words over 3 years.
• Yet, in 2004, half of students with disabilities were in eighth grade or above and still read at a rate equivalent to the average fourth-grade reader in the general population.
Source: SEELS Wave 1 and Wave 3 Direct Assessments, 2001 and 2004
Letter-word identification average percentile rankings of students with disabilities, 2001 and 2004
13
20
31
29
31
38
26
27
7
38
17
18
30
31
33
40
26
31
37
Multiple disabilities
Traumatic brain injury
Autism
Other health impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
2624All disabilities
Emotional disturbance
Mental retardation
Speech/language impairments
Specific learning disabilities
2001 2004Average percentile rank
1916
8
Source: SEELS Wave 1 and Wave 3 Direct Assessments, 2001 and 2004
Social adjustment• The social adjustment
of students with disabilities generally mirrored that of students in the general population, with important exceptions.– Classroom behaviors
– Getting along at school
– Negative social adjustment
Teachers’ ratings of the classroom behaviors of students with disabilities and students in the general population
Students withdisabilities
General populationof students
Never Very often Never Very often
Percentage of students with frequency of behavior:
Easily transitions between classroom activities 5 54 6 61
Follows teacher directions 2 52 2 63
Controls temper in conflict situations with peers 11 50 10 63
Cooperates with peers without prompting 5 46 4 56
Acts sad or depressed 55 7 62 6
Fights with others 55 7 61 6
Gets easily distracted 11 39 38 21
Source: SEELS Wave 1 Language Arts Teacher Questionnaire, 2001
Parents’ reports of how well students with disabilities got along at school
64
52
29
38
7
10
Teachers
Students
PercentVery well Pretty well Not very/not at all well
How well got alongwith:
Source: SEELS Wave 1 parent interview, 2001.
Negative social adjustment of students with disabilities
16
5
17
49
8
5
7
17
7
16
14
2
3
2
11
2
0
1
4
1
2
4
Specific learning disabilities
Speech/language impairments
Mental retardation
Emotional disturbance
Hearing impairments
Visual impairments
Orthopedic impairments
Other health impairments
Autism
Traumatic brain injury
Multiple disabilities
Have been subject to disciplinary action at school
Have ever been arrested
Percentage of students
Source: SEELS Wave 3 parent interviews, 2004
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