The national dropout rate has remained at about 20% for the last decade. However, disparities in the definition of dropouts and in data collection have caused national dropout figures to vary. Researchers agree that students from areas of large minority populations with fewer English-speaking students, and those living in poverty are at risk of…

This document is the result of an Institute for Educational Leadership conference convened to brief Congressional staff on dropouts, dropout programs, and what information about dropouts merits consideration by policymakers. This report is intended to be a readable account of the dropout problem appropriate for the general public as well as for…

This document presents the final report of a dropout prevention counseling program designed for elementary school students in McDowell County, West Virginia. The purpose of the program is explained and three objectives met by the project are identified: (1) counseling sessions were held with each of the identified potential dropouts (N=206) in two…

There is a growing concern at the national, state, and local levels over the number of students who are leaving school without graduating. In response to this concern, Spokane School District No. 81 in Spokane, Washington established a ninth-grade task force to examine the issue of dropouts. This report reviews related literature examined by the…

In light of the theory that student absenteeism and lack of motivation are intertwined, educators have begun to investigate the theories of motivation in order to apply them to creative attendance policies in an attempt to reduce the problem of student absenteeism. Motivational theories indicate common elements of the importance of the intrinsic…

Service learning has been found to be a potentially powerful dropout prevention tool. Service learning combines community service with learning activities. Participating students must be engaged in significant, well-planned, and genuine service. Second, they must reflect on their experiences of serving others to ensure a complete learning…

Project PATHE (Positive Action Through Holistic Education) was a 3-year delinquency prevention program implemented in seven schools by the Charleston County, Maryland public school system between 1980 and 1983. An evaluation of the PATHE program was conducted which compared PATHE schools to two non-PATHE schools. Year-to-year differences in the…

This report presents evaluative information of the effectiveness of the Career Awareness and Resource Education (Project CARE) program in New York City. The program served 346 students of limited English proficiency. Participating students received instruction in English as a second language ESL, native language arts (NLA), the content areas, and…

This booklet describes two prevention programs, Peer Power, a program for girls, and Awareness and Development for Adolescent Males (ADAM), a program for boys. It is noted that these programs, designed to reach students before high school age, help young adolescents stay in school, delay sexual activity and pregnancy, and develop realistic career…

This report provides evaluative information regarding the effectiveness of Project Aprendizaje, a New York City program that served 269 Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency (LEP). The project promoted parent and community involvement by sponsoring cultural events, such as a large Latin American festival. Students developed…

This report examines the progress in 1992-93 of the Career Awareness Program for Bilingual Haitian and Hispanic Students (Project CAP) in New York City. In the year under review, Project CAP served a total of 292 students with limited English proficiency who were also limited in their ability to read and write in their native language.…

This report provides evaluative information concerning Project HOPE (Helpful Opportunities for Public Enrichment) in New York City. This project served 250 Spanish-speaking students and 109 Chinese-speaking students who scored at or below the 40th percentile on the Language Assessment Battery and were thus categorized as being of limited English…