Many students who experience extended school absences or dropout episodes reengage with school and complete a diploma or alternative credential within 4 years of beginning ninth grade. However, these students have not been extensively studied, and the factors that affect reengagement decisions are not well understood. Using an educational…

The customary perception is that students who drop out vanish from school enrollment rosters for good. This is an incomplete picture of the complex dropout story; dropping out is not necessarily a permanent high school outcome. Following the enrollment and course history of a district cohort of first-time 9th graders, this article documents the…

Applicants for college entrance may be deemed able to succeed based on a variety of screening factors: standardized test scores such as ACT or SAT, high school grade point average or completion of college preparatory coursework. Rio Grande University (pseudonym) offered provisional admission to applicants who met all entrance requirements with the…

This study follows a cohort of first-time ninth graders over five years in San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) to describe the magnitude of its dropout problem and the numbers, characteristics, and graduation outcomes of the dropouts who subsequently reenrolled in the district. Additionally, it documents reenrollment issues…