Running head: EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS PAPER

Evidence Synthesis Paper

Breanna N. Dickson, Emily Matthews, & Jessica Scott
Touro University Nevada

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Research Question:
Is there a disparity between young adults from disadvantaged populations who receive
transitional services versus their non-disadvantaged counterparts?
How does this study relate to your research question?
This study relates to our research question because it investigates whether gender,
ethnicity, disability and school setting have an effect on transition services received.
What is the purpose of the study?
The purpose of this research study was to investigate disproportionality in transitional
services for students with disabilities. This is a significant topic because poor alliance between
transition services and post school goals can result in undesirable consequences for students with
disabilities. Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities whose needs tend to engulf
the resources of families and adult service providers after high school graduation tend to have
poor alliance between transition services and post school goals (Baer, Davisio, Queen, & Flexer,
2011).
What are the research questions/hypotheses?
There were two major research questions asked in the study. The first question was
Were there significant differences in post school goals, secondary curricula and academic
achievement for students from differing gender, ethnicity, disability, and school setting as
compared as a population as a whole? The other question was Were there significant
differences in transition services that were received and considered helpful for students from
differing gender, ethnicity, disability and school settings compared to the population as a

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whole? The authors hypothesized that students transition services and secondary programs
were driven not only by their post school goals, but also by their disability, ethnicity, gender, and
school setting.
Does the literature review justify the need for this study?
Previous research has shown disparities in each of the subgroups of gender, ethnicity,
disability and school settings individually. This study was needed to examine the effects of these
disparities as a whole.
What is the study design/type of study? What is the level of evidence?
The study design was a descriptive study because the results of the research describe
features of the populations studied. In addition, this study is a level-3 retrospective cohort study
because it examines events that have already taken place through the use of school records.
How many participants? all together and in each group if applicable
The resulting sample was drawn from 299 local education agencies (LEA) and consisted
of 4,572 students with disabilities who graduated or aged out of secondary school with an IEP in
the school years ending 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
How were the participants recruited and selected?
Participants were recruited and carefully chosen based on students who graduated or
aged out of special education in May, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 school years. These students
all went to school in a large Northeastern state. Students from one-half of the local education
agencies (LEAs) in the state that were chosen based on a random sample of schools that were
stratified by size and type for the sample. The LEAs were divided into quartiles based on the

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enrollment of children and youth with IEPs. This resulted in the identification of four groups of
schools.
If applicable, how were participants assigned to groups?
The participants were not assigned to groups; the researchers examined records, surveys,
and interviews to gather their data.
How are the participants described demographics e.g. diagnosis, age, gender, race
The sample was comprised of about 8% of the total population of special education
students that graduated or aged out in the previously years. The demographic characteristics of
the study included 2810 males and 1711 females. For ethnicity, the sample included Whites,
African-American, Hispanic and other. The primary disabilities in the sample included students
with learning disabilities, mental retardation, other health impairments, emotional disability,
hearing impairments, multiple disabilities, autism, orthopedic impairments, TBI, speech and
language, and deaf and blindness. Participants in this study were described as living in a large
city, a small city, suburban area, or rural area.
What are the variables? Independent and dependent if applicable
Independent variables were used to measure the disproportionately in transition services.
These variables were ethnicity, gender, disability, and school setting. The dependent variables
were chosen to measure curriculum and related outcomes that have been found critical to
transitional services. These variables were school supervised community experience, preparation
for college entrance exams, school supervised paid work, help applying for college and
vocational rehab.

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What measures were used?

The "composition index" was used because it identifies the ratio that a group represents
in the population to the proportion of that group receiving an educational service, yielding
information about the total allocation of services across multiple groups. This is used to identify
significantly higher or lower utilization of services by a given group of individuals (Baer,
Davisio, Queen, & Flexer, 2011).
If applicable, what is the intervention?
No intervention was used. This was a historical study that examines the amount and type
of transition services students received.
What statistical analyses were used?
A single sample t-test was used to test the null hypothesis that there would be no
significant difference in secondary curricula and transition services for groups of students from
differing school settings and differing ethnic, disability, and gender groupings. This allowed the
researchers to determine whether the mean value of a group differed significantly from the mean
value of the population of students with disabilities as a whole. In order to provide a more
descriptive presentation of the data, the researchers used percentages rather than correlational
coefficients (Baer, Davisio, Queen, & Flexer, 2011).
What are the findings?
The researchers found females were less occupationally oriented than males: taking fewer
technical and career courses and being more oriented toward college. In addition, a significantly
higher proportion of African-American students reported two and four-year college goals, yet

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were much less likely to be in mainstream classes and passed significantly fewer graduation tests
on average than the population as a whole. This study found that students disability grouping
also had an effect on their transition services: a significantly higher proportion of students with
intellectual disabilities planned to go to college than were in mainstream classes and they
received fewer helpful transition services related to college. In addition, students with emotional
disabilities were far less likely to be in mainstream academic classes and to have college goals
than students with learning disabilities, but scored nearly equal to students with learning
disabilities on graduation tests. Overall students from urban and suburban schools were more
focused on college outcomes than their small city and rural counterparts (Baer, Davisio, Queen,
& Flexer, 2011).
Do these findings support the hypothesis?
The findings supported the hypothesis that significant difference in secondary curricula
and transition services for groups of students from differing school settings and differing gender,
ethnic, and disability groupings.
How do the findings relate to previous research as described in the literature review?
The results of this study supported the findings of earlier research on academic
preparation and gender, ethnicity, disability, and school settings. This study aligned with
previous studies in that females were less occupationally oriented than males. In addition, this
study supported previous research on the impact of school settings on the placement of students
in mainstream classes; urban students with disabilities were proportionally less likely to be in
mainstream classes. This study also supported an earlier research study on ethnicity that found

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that African-American students with disabilities were less likely to be served in mainstream
classes (Baer, Davisio, Queen, & Flexer, 2011).
Does the author state any clinical implications for the findings?
The author found two implications for practice: disproportionality of services for students
with postsecondary education goals and disproportionality of services for students with full-time
employment goals. Poor alignment for urban students between post-school goals and academic
curricula suggests the need for coordinated IEP and transition planning between middle and high
schools to ensure that students who plan to enter postsecondary education are assured the
opportunity receive the appropriate courses of study at any high school they enter. Students from
rural areas had the highest level of participation in mainstream classes yet they reported lower
postsecondary education goals which suggest the need to make these students more aware of
postsecondary education options at the middle school level (Baer, Davisio, Queen, & Flexer,
2011).
This study found that females were less occupationally oriented than their male
counterparts, which indicates the need for middle school guidance counseling and transition
planning that exposes females with disabilities to technical education opportunities and high
paying careers. In addition, this study points to the need to provide students with multiple
disabilities with flexible points of entry and exit in career and technical programs since they may
not be able to attain certification in a career and technical program (Baer, Davisio, Queen, &
Flexer, 2011).
What are the limitations that the author identifies?

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The population for this study did not include dropouts which cannot be generalized to
that population. Since this study was descriptive, it did not use a multiple analysis of covariance
or multiple-regression analysis, and it used percentages to describe effect sizes rather than effect
size statistics.
Does the author discuss implications for future research?
The author discusses that further research is needed to determine how African-American
students choose college and why they were not able to get into mainstream classes.
What would you say about the sample size? Do you think it is adequate?
The sample consisted of 4,572 students with disabilities who aged out or graduated from
secondary school with an IEP in the school years ending in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The
sample size of 4,572 is an adequate representation of the population.
If the researcher did not find a significant difference between the groups, is it possible that
this is due to a Type II error? If so, why do you think so?
No Type II error occurred; the researchers did not fail to reject a false null hypothesis.
The researchers found a significant difference in the type of transition services received between
the groups.
Is there a control or comparison group? If so, is the control or comparison group
comparable to the experimental group on key features?
There was not a control or comparison group in this study. For this study, the
compositional index was chosen because it identified a proportion that a group represents in the
population to the proportion of that group receiving an educational service. This approach can be

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utilized to identify significantly higher or lower utilizations of services by a given population of

persons (Baer, Davisio, Queen, & Flexer, 2011).
Are those administering the outcome measures blind to group assignment?
Those administering the outcome measures were not blind to the group assignment since
there was no control or comparison group. The students special education teachers were the
ones who administered the surveys and interviews.
Are the participants blind to group assignment?
The participants were not blind to the group assignment since there was no control or
comparison group. The participants were chosen from the local education agencies (LEAs) based
on a random sample of schools based on size and type.
Does the researcher account for drop-outs in the study? Could drop outs have influenced
the outcomes?
The researcher did not account for dropouts in this study and the results cannot be
generalized to that population. The dropouts could have influenced the outcomes.
Does the researcher report reliability and validity of the outcome measures? Are there
questions about the outcome measures chosen?
The researcher reported reliability and validity of the outcome measures. Teachers
administering the surveys evaluated the questions and survey process to make sure they were
clear and reliable. They were trained to administer the surveys and code the responses of the
students. Also, if the students did not understand the questions, the teachers adapted them in
order to make them more understandable. There were not any questions about the outcome

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measures. The survey questions used in this study were derived from surveys developed for the
National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) that were field tested and crosschecked for
reliability (Baer, Davisio, Queen, & Flexer, 2011).
What confounding factors could contribute to or influence the study outcomes?
There were no confounding factors since the researchers only examined variables that
were the focus of the study.
What are the major strengths of this study? (list 3)
This study indicates that there was a need for an early transition planning that relates the
students course study; otherwise the students with disabilities may be permanently tracked into
a curriculum which was separate to their goals after graduation. The second strength of the study
was that the researchers recognized that there needed to be a transition-planning directive for
early transition planning related to students' courses of study. The third strength was that the
researchers found that students with more significant disabilities with postsecondary education
goals should be allowed to experience challenging curricula at an earlier age.
What are the major weaknesses of the study? (list 3)
One of the major weaknesses of the study was that it used percentages to describe the
difference between groups instead of the use of effect size statistics. This decision was made in
order to shorten the length and the complexity of the article. Another weakness of this study was
that the sample showed a high degree of alignment with the 2003 population with
overrepresentation of African-American students and students with intellectual disabilities. The
third weakness of the study was that it only described the allocation of secondary programs for

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children with disabilities; the study would have been stronger had it included early intervention
to middle school.
How would you use this article as a therapist?
This article can be used by therapists to educate teachers, students, and their families on
the diverse needs of a child with disabilities. Being knowledgeable of the disparities between
groups that exist can allow for the therapist to advocate for underserved students. Therapists
could also use this as a means to facilitate functional skills to better prepare students for the
transition process.
How does this article support/not support participation in occupation and the field of
occupational therapy?
This article supports the participation in occupation and the field of occupational therapy.
Occupational therapy can support the transition for families and children with and without
disabilities in order to help children grow and learn to be as independent as possible.
Occupational therapists working in the school setting strive to help their clients live life to its
fullest which could mean helping the child successfully transition from early intervention to
school services and from school services to adult life.

APA Reference:
Baer, R. M., Davisio, A., Queen, R. M., & Flexer, R. W. (2011). Disproportionality in transition
services: A descriptive study. Education and in Autism and Developmental Disabilities,
46(2), 172-185.