The Effectiveness of Special Education Programs: Rethinking the Initiative.

Overview & Synopsis

The study compared the life outcomes of four groups of graudates (N=844) from the Maryland high school class of 1981: regular education/nonvocational, regular education/vocational, special education/nonvocational, and special education/vocational. Data were analyzed to determine how special education graduates differed from regular education graduates in their achievement of life outcomes usually associated with the effectiveness of public education. The most striking finding was the lack of detectable differences between special education and regular education graduates 5 years after leaving high school. Findings indicated that special education students found jobs, left home, furthered their education, and got married at the same rates as regular education graduates. Results suggested that Maryland special education is effectively meeting the goal of equalizing the educational potential of special education graduates and that participation in special education did not lead to stigmatization or inferior instruction. (DB)