Transition Assessment for Students with Learning and Behavioral Disabilities: Best Practices and Future Directions

Abstract

There is a concerning disparity between students with disabilities and their peers without disabilities in their long-term, postsecondary outcomes. The former group tends to have a variety of poorer outcomes in important domains of life, such as employment, postsecondary education, independent living, and community participation. Policymakers, scholars, and the general public alike have called attention to this issue, resulting in both legal mandates and research on evidence-based practices in the area of transition services. While the law requires individualized, results-oriented transition services based upon age-appropriate transition assessment and a number of evidence-based transition practices and predictors have been identified, studies of individualized education programs and practices have revealed a significant underuse of best practices in transition assessment and services. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of comprehensive transition assessment as a foundation for setting postsecondary goals and designing services that best fit individual student strengths and needs and best prepare students to be successful in their adult lives. Further, we provide an overview of current recommendations for best practices in planning, conducting, and interpreting transition assessments, and offer suggestions for areas where further research is needed.

Citation

Sweigart, C.A. and Evanovich, L.L. (2015), "Transition Assessment for Students with Learning and Behavioral Disabilities: Best Practices and Future Directions", Transition of Youth and Young Adults (Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Vol. 28), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 89-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0735-004X20150000028005