An investigation of the effects of extended school year programming for students with moderate intellectual disabilities

This study involved 44 subjects with moderate intellectual disabilities in three different extended school year (ESY) groups. The students received either no ESY programming, partial ESY programming, or full ESY programming. Both parents/guardians and teachers were questioned about the subjects\u27 abilities three times, using the AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale-School Edition. The times of test administration were May, at the end of one school year; August/September, at the beginning of the subsequent school year; and November, at the end of the first quarter. The data were analyzed using a 2 x 3 x 3 ANOVA to test for main effects for Informants, Times of test administration, and lengths of ESY, as well as to detect 2- or 3-way interactions. The results indicated that there was no evidence of skill regression for subjects in any of the three groups, and that all subjects improved significantly over time in each of the five factors assessed. Parents/guardians and teachers agreed on the subjects\u27 abilities in four of the five areas assessed; parents reported significantly higher scores than did teachers in the area of personal Self-Sufficiency. The results also indicated that students who attended the full ESY programming improved significantly in the area of Community Self-Sufficiency between May and November; subjects in the other two groups did not show evidence of such improvement. In general, the findings indicated that the subjects demonstrated either skill maintenance or acquisition over the summer months regardless of their participation or length of ESY programs. The one exception was in the area of Community Self-Sufficiency, in which subjects who received extensive instruction over the summer showed an increase of ability between May and November. This suggests that ESY services for such students should emphasize community-based and vocational instruction, as other skills are more likely to be maintained over the summer months without such services