A Nation at Risk, the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, the United States Department of Education, and the Supreme Court have collectively created a venue for Special Education individuals to obtain successful living standards after secondary education experiences. The transition plan has been mandated by IDEA and whose way was paved by Board of Education for special education students. A study was conducted to gather information on practices in Midwestern public school districts. The opinions of the practitioners, administrators, teachers, transition specialists, teachers and other support staff were solicited to gather opinions of these practices. A survey for Arizona public schools was used as a pattern for extracting opinions. This study revealed opinions of educators participating in the study were dissimilar concerning transition program effectiveness regarding schools. The results indicated that transition program ineffectiveness was due to transition assessment practices. Student-focused planning, interagency collaboration, family involvement, and program structuring are suggested for use in transition improvement. The study suggested specific solutions to improve program effectiveness include training for teachers and administrators as well. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]