Rural Vocational and Transition Assessment Practices for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: What Do Educators Really Know?

Transition planning requires quality transition assessment tailored to the student's needs, strengths, preferences and interests. Limited research is currently available that addresses what assessment tools rural practitioners utilize to meet the mandates of transition assessment to aid in transition planning for students with intellectual disabilities. A group of 71 rural educators were surveyed to determine their transition assessment understanding and practices in the rural setting. This descriptive study examined rural educators’ knowledge about transition assessment methods used in their rural settings, the transition assessment instruments they use with students with intellectual disabilities, and their perceptions of the impact that transition assessment has on the lives of students with intellectual disabilities from rural areas as they transition from secondary to postsecondary life.