In 2019, MDRC launched the Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students, such as students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, at community and broad-access colleges (those that have open or minimally selective admissions…

LifeSkills Training is the only program to prevent substance use disorder among adolescents that has evidence of effects on substance use outcomes from multiple randomized controlled trials. Evaluations have shown that the version for middle school students reduces their use of substances in high school, but these studies were conducted in the…

Every year 1.3 million U.S. high school students drop out of school with one quarter of female students failing to graduate on time. Female dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, to earn less when they are employed, to become pregnant before the age of 20, to become obese, to smoke, and to drink more heavily than their male counterparts. This…

Schools have long recognized the importance of creating climates that are peaceful, laying the groundwork for good student academic learning. This article explores the work of a large urban school district as it applies a community violence prevention model developed by the local county public health department to create peaceful communities.…

Interventions that aim to promote social competence, reduce problem behavior, and improve school climate are common at all levels of schooling. This whole-school focus, coupled with researchers' concerns about contamination or spillover effects in evaluations that randomly assign classrooms or students to conditions, as well as advances in…

"Check & Connect" is a dropout prevention strategy that relies on close monitoring of school performance, as well as mentoring, case management, and other supports. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewed six studies on "Check & Connect" that were designed to assess the program's effectiveness. Four of these studies…

Project SAIL (Student Advocates Inspire Learning) is a Title IV-C Project located in Hopkins, Minnesota, designed to prevent students from dropping out of school by keeping them successfully involved in the mainstream environment. This study presents a review of other dropout prevention approaches, describes the intervention strategies involved in…

This document provides materials concerning the evaluation of Minnesota's Early Childhood Family Education Programs. Part I summarizes the findings and conclusions of evaluations conducted since the first six pilot programs began in 1975. Part II deals with the characteristics of successful, high quality programs and includes an instrument…

The Minnesota Department of Education has created a plan, "Unlearning Violence," to aid schools and communities in their efforts to create safe and nurturing environments for all the state's children. The goals and challenges of this plan were formulated with the involvement of over 600 citizens and an in-depth study of research related…

The Minnesota Program for Victims of Sexual Assault conducted a 9-month training program for racial minority human service professionals from September 1983 through May 1984. The objectives of the project were to improve the identification, intervention, and treatment of sexual assault victims and their families. The project targeted Blacks,…

This federally funded project was designed to develop, implement, and evaluate a best practices inservice model to train teachers to provide services in least restrictive environments for preschool children with emotional/behavioral disorders. Through collaborative planning among the University of Minnesota and selected Minnesota public schools,…