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Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS)

Overview

PEELS followed almost 3,000 children with disabilities as they progressed through preschool and into their early elementary years. Data were collected on the preschool and early elementary school experiences of a nationally representative sample of children with disabilities and the outcomes they achieved and included children's preschool environments and experiences, their transition to kindergarten, their kindergarten and early elementary education experiences, and their academic and adaptive skills. The children were 3 to 5 years old at the start of the study in 2003 and were followed through 2008.

Design

Over several years, information about the children, their families, and instructional/service programs were collected using family interviews, child assessments, and multiple questionnaires. The PEELS sample consists of approximately 1,000 children in each age cohort (3-, 4-, and 5-year olds) receiving special education services at the study onset. Direct assessments of children's academic skills and parent interviews were conducted. In addition, questionnaires were sent to participating children's teachers, school principals, directors of local education agencies, and state 619 (preschool special education) coordinators.

Instruments and Assessments

The PEELS questionnaires are available to view, download, and print as PDF files. To view them, click here.

Publications and Products

To view PEELS publications and products, click here.

To gain access to the PEELS restricted-use datasets, contact the IES Data Security Office at IESData.Security@ed.gov or go to http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/licenses.asp.

Users may carry out tabular and regression-based analysis of PEELS data without a restricted-use license through PowerStats at http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/.

Training Videos

The PEELS data training modules are intended to be a resource to researchers who would like to use the PEELS dataset to conduct research addressing young children with disabilities. These modules provide opportunities for researchers to learn more about the background of the PEELS study, the study design and sampling, the assessments and instruments used to collect PEELS data, and how to access, manipulate, and analyze PEELS data.

To view the PEELS Training videos, click here.

Staff

Westat:
Dr. Elaine Carlson
Ms. Amy Bitterman
Ms. Karen Schroll
Dr. Hyunshik Lee

IES:
Amy Sussman
Amy.Sussman@ed.gov
(202) 219-2126

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