Remedial and Special Education

1Students with disabilities deserve the same opportunity asall students for a bright future after graduating from high school. However, nearly two decades of research on postschool outcomes of students with disabilities indicate only modest gains. Data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study–2 (NLTS2) will document, over a 10-year period, the experiences of more than 11,000 students who were between the ages of 13 and 16 in 2000 as they move from secondary school into adult roles (Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Garza, & Levine, 2005). First-wave data from this study show only 31 % of students with disabilities attend postsecondary education classes and three fourths still live with their parents 2 years after graduation (Levine & Wagner, 2005).Although these results provide some indica-tion of improvement in the postschool life of students with disabilities, they continue to emphasize the need for school programs to focus on preparing students for life after high school. Research has identified educational practices that are correlated with improved student postschool outcomes. One variable that has been positively correlated with improved postschool outcomes is the presence of self-determinatio