Current approaches to educating at-risk students are the result of several shifts in thinking over the last 35 years, and a new way of defining at-risk students is needed to permit changes in school policy and practice to meet these students' needs. Cultural deprivation was originally considered the single cause of at-risk status. Subsequently,…

Research on academic achievement and high risk students over the past 30 years indicates that the home, the school, or the community can be the source of insufficient educational experiences that contribute to educational disadvantage. About 30 percent of the present school population is estimated to be at risk of failure, and demographic…