What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviews in this topic area focus on dropout prevention interventions designed for use in secondary school (middle school, junior high school, and high school) or community-based settings to help students stay in school, progress in school, and/or complete school. Systematic reviews of evidence in this topic area…

Dan Bloom of MDRC examines policies and programs designed to help high school dropouts improve their educational attainment and labor market outcomes. So called "second-chance" programs, he says, have long provided some combination of education, training, employment, counseling, and social services. But the research record on their effectiveness…

As part of its dropout prevention efforts, the state of Florida offers currently enrolled high school students the opportunity to earn a General Educational Development (GED) certificate. This new graduation option for at-risk students makes frequent use of computer-assisted instruction, operates a counseling component, integrates vocational…

Local school dropout programs are surveyed to identify the approaches used to prevent or overcome dropping out and to obtain views of local program administrators about dropout problems and programs. The programs had the following basic elements in common: (1) poor and minority teenagers who have multiple problems are targeted; (2) multiple…

In 1990, social science programs in Quebec's colleges in Canada were revised to standardize core courses and objectives across individual courses. Subsequently, the province's Commission on the Evaluation of Collegiate Teaching undertook an evaluation of the revised program to determine its administration and effectiveness, as well as the…

A program entitled Project COPS (Career Oriented Peer Tutoring System) is a comprehensive peer tutoring and advisement approach that was undertaken to improve student retention at Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey. The principal goal of the project was to reach potentially unsuccessful entering freshmen students and to offer them…

The research and evaluation agenda for the Austin Independent School District (AISD) (Texas) is determined for each school year, subject to current needs and requests. The evaluations and other major projects for 1993-94 will focus on three major areas. First is providing school support. Testing programs mandated by state law and district policy…

A project was conducted in Kansas City, Missouri, to diminish the dropout rate by establishing an on-going linkage between the local high school and the adult basic education (ABE) program. The program involved the development of a system of dropout identification, contact, and referral from the secondary school to the ABE program for young adults…