| In many rural school districts in the state of Missouri student preparation for post-secondary transition needs much improvement. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of a transition improvement initiative on the preparedness of high school students concerning targeted post-secondary skill sets. The post-secondary improvement initiative was framed by a Transition Self Study completed by the targeted district prior to program initiation and guided by the University of Kansas under the approval of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the State of Missouri. Research questions concerned student post-secondary performance improvement, stakeholder perceptions of post-secondary improvements, and interagency collaboration as a vehicle for improved post-secondary transition preparation. Data were collected through a district review of records for post-secondary engagement, interviews, and pre/post-test comparison. The study showed post-secondary improvement across subgroups with statistically significant results. A paired samples t-test was run on the data for acquisition of "soft skills" through community coursework participation. A t score of 4.92 resulted in a p value of less than .000. Z tests on two independent sample proportions indicated an increase in participation in post-secondary training and/or employment. The results of the tests, and their respective p values: IEP students z = 1.97, p =.024; At-Risk students z = 2.87, p = .002; and General Education students z = 3.39, p = .000. Results of the study indicate implementation of the post-secondary transition improvement initiative yielded improved student preparedness over time. The study recommends continual monitoring of contextual based post-secondary transition curriculum in conjunction with review of community stakeholder input to maintain current levels of post-secondary preparedness in the future. |
