Over the last decade, between 347,000 and 544,000 10th- through 12th-grade students left school each year without successfully completing a high school program Status dropout rates represent the proportion of young people ages 16 through 24 who are out of school and who have not earned a high school credential. Status rates are higher than event…

Examined structural relationships among risk and protective factors in a sample of 646 continuation (high risk) high school students. Findings show that depression is common among high risk adolescents, and it has numerous negative associated features and consequences. (SLD)

Compared 103 students on global self-esteem and perceived life chances. Thirty-three were in a continuation high school, 20 participated in a mentoring program, and 50 were in a program for the academically gifted. The groups did not differ in global self-esteem, but students at the continuation school had lower scores for perceived life chances.…

This working paper examines the approaches, wisdom, and experience generated by the ChalleNGe program, as well as the vast storehouse of knowledge and research, models and systems possessed by the military services that are potentially applicable to educating and developing youngsters who are at greatest risk of academic failure, economic…

The Calgary Program for Parenting Adolescents (PPA) was designed to provide an opportunity for parenting teenaged girls to complete their high school education. For the purposes of evaluation, surveys were developed for each of the respondent groups: students (n=58), teachers (n=26), PPA staff (n=10), PPA coordinating committee members (n=4), and…

Examined the nature of culture change that occurred at an alternative continuation high school for at-risk students (n=116) and changes in student attitudes over 2 years. Quantitative and qualitative data show the effectiveness of the school's Team Learning Projects model and the school's restructuring program. (SLD)

College-based programs that motivate underachieving teenagers to graduate and pursue further education is part of a menu of initiatives Guilford County, North Carolina, has introduced to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of students in its middle and high schools, where racial and ethnic diversity and poverty have been on the rise. As…

According to a study at the University of Wisconsin, the General Educational Development (GED) credential does not insure that students are prepared for college. The GED does not help identify those who will succeed in college. To raise the level of the equivalency certificate, GED preparations should focus on reading, writing, and mathematics.…

This hearing was held to receive testimony related to H.R. 3042, the Dropout Prevention and Reentry Act, which would initiate a new Federal program of grants to school districts to mount demonstration programs. The programs would focus on the following: (1) identifying high risk students and preventing them from dropping out; (2) encouraging youth…

Reports on an ethnographic project examining an Australian program designed to provide homeless adolescents with access to secondary education. Focuses on the relationships among groups of students within the program and explores the way that education can either reinforce disadvantage or offer access to opportunity. (MJP)

From July 1995 through September 2001, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Ford Foundation (Ford) operated a demonstration of the Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP). QOP offered intensive and comprehensive services to help at-risk youth graduate from high school and enroll in postsecondary education or training. QOP was mainly an…

Spurred by a national dropout rate of 25 percent, educators are examining causes of leaving school early, identifying high risk students, and devising student retention programs. This paper profiles the potential dropout, describes 10 characteristics of effective student retention programs, and describes three exemplary programs in Colorado,…

A case study of an alternative middle school for at-risk students indicates that small, under-resourced schools cannot be expected to successfully serve students who have been rejected by the mainstream school system. Small alternative schools providing small class sizes and extra support for students require more, not less, funding. Commitment…

This book explores the hidden world of the continuation high school and analyzes the factors that limit its success. In particular, gender issues in these schools are examined: the different ways girls and boys slip in and out of the system, the different reasons, and the different consequences. The history of the continuation school and the…

In recent years, more than 25 percent of potential graduates--more than one million youngsters annually--left school without graduating. The dropout rate is even higher for Blacks, Hispanics and students from families of lower socioeconomic status. Since the dropout problem is closely related to broad social issues, such as youth unemployment,…