This report develops a topology of approaches to high school dropout prevention, and uses it to examine and review the effectiveness of existing programs, and to identify major gaps in current practice and research. Research on dropouts was reviewed to identify the kinds of students who drop out and their reasons for dropping out. Based on this…

The problem of high school dropouts has generated increased interest among researchers, policymakers, and educators in recent years. This paper examines the many issues involved in trying to understand and solve this complex social and educational problem. The issues are grouped into four areas, related to the incidence, causes, consequences, and…

This essay is a companion document to a statistical study of student dropouts conducted by the San Diego City Schools. Various definitions of dropout are presented, as well as a discussion of types of dropout or attrition rates: (1) annual dropout rate; (2) enrollment ratio dropout rate; (3) cumulative tracking dropout rate; and (4) estimated…

Reviews the origins and development of the 20th-century term "drop-out." Asserts that the social construction of the drop-out problem explicitly marks the time when secondary education became a common expectation in the United States. Contends that secondary education's success created the concept of a drop-out "problem." (CFR)

Examination of dropout trends in New York City for 1987-88 reveals the following: (1) the annual dropout rate was 7.5 percent for the high schools, and 8.4 percent system-wide; (2) the estimated 4-year dropout rate was 26.8 percent for the high schools, and 29.7 percent system-wide; (3) the 1987-88 4-year high school dropout rate was 5.7…

Treatment attrition is a major problem for programs treating adolescent substance abusers. To isolate and cross validate factors which are predictive of addiction treatment attrition among adolescent substance abusers, screening interview and diagnostic variables from 119 adolescent in-patients were submitted to a discriminant equation analysis.…

The Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) annually summarizes the district's dropout statistics for grades 7 through 12. This report contains the school-year and annual dropout counts for high school for the past six years, 1983-84 through 1988-89, and for grades 7 and 8 for the past five…

Examination of dropout trends in New York City for 1986-87 reveals the following: (1) the annual dropout rate was 7.3 percent for the high schools, and 8.3 percent system-wide; (2) the estimated four-year dropout rate was 26.3 percent for the high schools, and 29.2 percent system-wide; (3) the 1986-87 four-year high school dropout rate was 6.2…

Reviews four current books on the dropout problem. Two are termed state of the art, but all are limited because the needs of at-risk students are numerous, the programs for them are diverse, and theories of student engagement are not yet well developed. (DM)

Research and statistical data in this study identify factors that are correlated with early identification of potential dropout students. Chapter 1, the introduction, explains the study's focus: school areas that propagate attendance problems, family educational levels, social deviance, and academic achievement. One hundred students who had…

Argues research investigating distance education drop-out problems hasn't been based on comprehensive theoretical models; suggests Spady, Tinto, and Boshier's theoretical models are relevant to such research, since they reflect importance of exploring aptitude-treatment interactions in investigating drop-out problems; and proposes that the…

Examines patterns of drug use and other delinquent behaviors among students and school dropouts in six inner-city neighborhoods. Finds no correlation between substance use, delinquency, and dropping out, but does find that all dropouts were characterized by weak family support systems and social isolation. (FMW)

A 1-year research project was undertaken to discover how the arts could help keep at-risk high school students in school. The project was conducted in three phases. In phase 1, recent literature was reviewed to define criteria for the at-risk student and to identify implications for the arts in dropout prevention programs. Phase 2 consisted of…

Presents study results of the influence of adolescent childbearing and marriage on the likelihood of girls completing high school. Reports striking differences by ethnicity. Concludes that the effect of teen marriage on school completion was significant only for whites, with Latinas likely to drop out regardless of pregnancy, and married African…

Arguing that reliable and valid dropout rate estimates are prerequisite to establishment of causal factors and intervention programs, this article examines differences in definitions of dropouts, computational methods, and the complexities in defining cohorts, as well as the importance of sample attrition. Several sources of error are discussed.…