Quality Assessment in Secondary Transition Mixed-Methods Research

Since the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, the field of secondary transition has focused on advancing the quality of special education research to ensure students with disabilities are provided instruction to improve both in-school and postschool outcomes. Mixed-methods research (MMR), which integrates qualitative and quantitative approaches, can provide unique insights into postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities, but recommendations related to quality indicators for mixed-methods (QIMM) research in special education could be improved by offering explicit guidelines. Therefore, the purpose of this discussion article is to present a refined version of the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative’s (NTACT:C) QIMM Checklist as a useable tool for researchers, editors, and policymakers for guiding the design of high-quality MMR in the field of secondary transition. We provide an overview of revisions to the checklist, exemplars of MMR studies that met MMR-specific items on the QIMM Checklist in secondary transition, and recommendations for using the checklist and supporting and facilitating MMR in the field of secondary special education and transition.