The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2)

Lynn Newman, Ed.D. is a Senior Education Researcher in the Center for Education and Human Services at SRI International (formerly, Stanford Research Institute), a non-profit research institute near San Francisco, California. Dr. Newman has more than 35 years of experience in education and social science research in the disability policy and human services fields. She provided intellectual, methodological, and management direction to the design and implementation of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), a 10-year study assessing the secondary school programs, experiences, and achievements of a nationally representative sample of more than 11,000 students with disabilities. Currently, Dr. Newman is Principal Investigator on two US Department of Education grants to apply propensity methodology to NLTS2 data to identify promising practices associated with positive outcomes of youth with disabilities and to identify accommodations and supports provided for postsecondary students with disabilities associated with increased postsecondary school persistence and completion.

Dr. Newman has made significant contributions to important policy issues in special education, authoring numerous reports and papers on various aspects of outcomes for students and youth with disabilities. She is actively involved in the work of multiple national organizations focused on improving the lives of youth with disabilities, including the Council for Exceptional Children and the National Center for Learning Disabilities. In addition to her professional focus on issues related to youth with disabilities, Dr. Newman has experienced these issues personally, as a parent of a son with a learning disability.

Dr. Newman earned her doctorate in education leadership from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California.

The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2)

The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) is the largest and richest dataset available to describe the experiences and outcomes of youth with disabilities in the US as they transitioned from secondary school to young adulthood. This 10-year study was conducted by SRI International for the U.S. Department of Education. The initial sample included more than 11,000 secondary school students ages 13 through 16 and receiving special education services on December 1, 2000. The NLTS2 two-stage sampling plan yielded nationally representative estimates of youth with disabilities that generalize to youth with disabilities in that age group as a whole, as well as to those in each of the 12 federal special education disability categories. NTLS2 researchers collected data on sample members from multiple sources in five waves, two years apart, from 2001 to 2009. Data were collected through phone interviews and mailed surveys with parents and youth, surveys of school staff while youth were in secondary school, direct and alternate assessments of academic skills and knowledge, and collection of school transcripts. NLTS2 documented the secondary school and transition experiences of students with disabilities, and the post-secondary school achievements of these youth in postsecondary education, employment, social adjustment, and independent living. The NLTS2 website ( includes the study’s design and data collection documents, information about published journal articles based on secondary analysis of NLTS2 data, as well as the following reports of NLTS2 findings, listed here by topic:

Reports from NLTS2

Secondary School Programs and Performance

• Secondary School Programs and Performance of Students with Disabilities (2011)

• The Academic Achievement and Functional Performance of Youth with Disabilities (2006)

• An Overview of Findings from Wave 2 of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (2006)

• Going to School: Instructional Contexts, Programs, and Participation of Secondary School Students with Disabilities (2003)

• The Achievements of Youth with Disabilities During Secondary School (2003)

Transition Planning and Secondary School Services and Support Receipt

• Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities (2004)

• Services and Supports for Secondary School Students with Disabilities (2004)

Secondary School Student Characteristics and Experiences in Non-School Hours

• Life Outside the Classroom for Youth with Disabilities (2003)

• The Individual and Household Characteristics of Youth with Disabilities (2003)

Family Involvement, Family and Youth Expectations, Youth Perceptions

• Perceptions and Expectations of Youth with Disabilities (2007)

• Family Involvement in the Educational Development of Youth with Disabilities (2005)

Post-Secondary School Outcomes and Experiences

• The Post-High School Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 8 Years After High School.(2011)

• The Post-High School Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 6 Years After High School. (2011)

• The Post-High School Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 4 Years After High School (2009)

• After High School: A First Look at the Postschool Experiences of Youth with Disabilities (2005)

Comparisons Across Time – NLTS2 and NLTS Findings

• Comparisons Across Time of the Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 4 Years After High School. A report of Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) (2010)

• Changes Over Time in the Early Postschool Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities (2005)

• Changes Over Time in the Secondary School Experiences of Students with Disabilities (2004)

• Youth with Disabilities: A Changing Population (2003)