Higher standards in public schools have made it necessary for educational reformers to identify at-risk students and to develop effective programs for preventing their failure. This pamphlet begins by delineating the characteristics of at-risk students and discussing evaluation instruments that are useful for identifying such students. Successful programs for helping at-risk students provide a broad range of special services to assist in raising these students' low self-esteem through frequent personal contact with a qualified, caring staff. During a period of federal cutbacks in education (11 percent between 1980 and 1987), there has been a 20 percent increase in the numbers of disadvantaged students. The educational reform movement's push for higher graduation standards is resulting in a record high dropout rate. (TE)