U.S. Department of Education February 2015 School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities Jenifer Harr-Robins Mengli Song Michael Garet Louis Danielson American Institutes for Research School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities February 2015 Jenifer Harr-Robins Mengli Song Michael Garet Louis Danielson American Institutes for Research Jonathan Jacobson Project Officer Institute of Education Sciences NCEE 2015-4006 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities U.S. Department of Education Arne Duncan Secretary Institute of Education Sciences Sue Betka Acting Director National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance Ruth Curran Neild Commissioner February 2015 This report was prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences under Contract ED-04-CO- 0025/0013. The project officer is Jonathan Jacobson in the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. IES evaluation reports present objective information on the conditions of implementation and impacts of the programs being evaluated. IES evaluation reports do not include conclusions or recommendations or views with regard to actions policymakers or practitioners should take in light of the findings in the report. This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should read: Harr-Robins, J., Song, M., Garet, M., & Danielson, L. (2015). School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities (NCEE 2015-4006). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. This report is available on the Institute of Education Sciences website at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee. Alternate Formats: Upon request, this report is available in alternate formats, such as Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette. For more information, please contact the Department’s Alternate Format Center at 202-260-9895 or 202-205-8113. ii School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities Acknowledgments The authors greatly appreciate the school principals and school staff who participated in the study surveys on which this report is based. We also credit Cynthia Simko, Evan Nielsen, Jessica Knoerzer, and the rest of the NORC team at the University of Chicago for a successful survey administration and respondent outreach. We further thank the members of our Technical Working Group—Tom Cook, Lizanne DeStefano, Douglas Fuchs, Pete Goldschmidt, Brian Gong, Larry Hedges, Margaret McLaughlin, and Martha Thurlow—who provided valuable insights and guidance on survey development and presentation of findings for this report. Finally, we would like to thank Phil Esra and Emma Ruckley, whose excellent editorial skills helped make the report useful and understandable. iii School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest The research team for this study consists of key staff from American Institutes for Research. The organization and key staff members do not have financial interests that could be affected by findings from the study. None of the members of the Technical Working Group, convened by the research team to provide advice and guidance, have financial interests that could be affected by findings from the study. iv School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... xvii Study Background and Research Questions ............................................................................ xvii Data Sources, Sample, and Analytic Methods ....................................................................... xviii Summary of Findings ............................................................................................................... xix Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. xxiv Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Logic Model ................................................................................................................................ 2 Chapter 2: Study Design ................................................................................................................. 4 Data Sources ................................................................................................................................ 4 Determining “SWD Accountability” .......................................................................................... 5 Survey Sample ............................................................................................................................. 5 Analysis Methods ........................................................................................................................ 9 Caveat ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 3: Accountability Context for School Practices .............................................................. 11 School Accountability for the SWD Subgroup ......................................................................... 11 School Accountability for Other Subgroups ............................................................................. 15 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 4: School Characteristics and Staffing in SWD-Accountable and Non-SWD- Accountable Schools ..................................................................................................................... 20 School Characteristics ............................................................................................................... 20 Central District Programs for Students with Disabilities .......................................................... 22 Staffing ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 5: School Programs and Student Support Strategies in SWD-Accountable and Non- SWD-Accountable Schools ........................................................................................................... 26 School Programs ....................................................................................................................... 26 Student Support Strategies ........................................................................................................ 27 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 6: Instructional Time, Structure, and Settings in SWD-Accountable and Non-SWD- Accountable Schools ..................................................................................................................... 31 Instructional Time and Structure ............................................................................................... 31 v School Practices and Accountability for Students With Disabilities Instructional Settings ................................................................................................................. 34 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 7: Teacher Collaboration and Professional Development in SWD-Accountable and Non-SWD-Accountable Schools ................................................................................................... 41 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 44 References ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix A: Principal and Special Education Designee Surveys ................................................ 46 Appendix B: Chapter 2, Study Design Tables .............................................................................. 68 Appendix C: Chapter 3, Accountability Context for School Practices—State-Level Tables ....... 71 Appendix D: Chapter 4, School Characteristics and Staffing in SWD-Accountable and Non- SWD-Accountable Schools—State-Level Tables ......................................................................... 84 Appendix E: Chapter 5, School Programs and Student Support Strategies in SWD- Accountable and Non-SWD-Accountable Schools—State-Level Tables................................... 115 Appendix F: Chapter 6, Instructional Time, Structure, and Settings in SWD-Accountable and Non-SWD-Accountable Schools—State-Level Tables ........................................................ 132 Appendix G: Chapter 7, Teacher Collaboration and Professional Development in SWD- Accountable and Non-SWD-Accountable Schools—State-Level Tables..................................