Over the past decade, research on dropout prevention has become focused on using evidence-based practice, and data-driven decisions, to mitigate students' dropping out of high school and instead, support and prepare students for career and college. Early warning systems or on-track indicators, in which readily available student-level data are used…

College student retention has been and continues to be one of the most important issues facing the higher education community. Despite this importance, little is known about the type and methodological rigor of institutional efforts to increase student retention. This article presents the findings of a study which attempted to gain a clearer…

Each year, more than 8,200 young Philadelphians drop out of school. The first step to a solution, taken in 2005, was the gathering and examination of data to truly understand the dimensions of the problem and the characteristics of struggling students and out-of-school Philadelphia youth. These studies, conducted by researchers at the University…

We study a set of programs implemented in Philadelphia high schools that focus on boosting high school graduation, and especially college attendance, using data from the Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS). We examine the effects of these programs on a set of schooling-related outcomes during and after high school. The PELS data-set…

This report is the third in a series of studies conducted to provide information about the characteristics, achievements, perceptions, and activities of current and former students of Harrisburg Area Community College. Included is a description of matriculants who have discontinued their attendance without having earned an associate degree or…

Act 49 of 1987 requires the Secretary of Education to provide the General Assembly with an annual report on public school dropouts in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this report is to document the actual number of students who drop out each year and to provide various characteristics about these students. The type of data collected about each dropout…

A SAMPLE OF 15-YEAR-OLDS WAS LOCATED AND TESTED AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF PROJECT TALENT, A NATIONAL INVENTORY OF APTITUDES AND ABILITIES OF HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH. A PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF ALL 15-YEAR-OLDS IN THE UNITED STATES WAS ESTABLISHED, CONSISTING OF 4 1/2 PERCENT OF ALL SUBJECTS IN GRADES 9 THROUGH 12 AND LESS THAN ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT OF ALL…

HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS OF HIGH ABILITY WERE STUDIED TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SEGMENT OF THE DROPOUT POPULATION. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES WERE TO (1) DETERMINE THEIR EMPLOYMENT STATUS, (2) DETERMINE THEIR PATTERN OF INTEREST AND PERSONALITY, (3) SUGGEST OCCUPATIONAL FIELDS FOR WHICH TRAINING PROGRAMS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED, AND (4) PROVIDE…

Four studies conducted at Harcum College (Pennsylvania) in fall 1969 were presented. From a survey to determine students' reasons for attending Harcum, it was concluded that substantial numbers of students view their college education as a means of acquiring future direct, material rewards. A study on student attrition demonstrated the variety and…

Today and every day, in neighborhoods and communities throughout Philadelphia, young people are making decisions that will change their lives forever. Some will decide to stay in school, graduate, and prepare themselves for college and careers. Others, who left school without a diploma, will summon the courage to seek out educational programs they…

This document reports a study of students who had enrolled at Bucks County Community College (BCCC) from September 1965 to August 1973, had completed less than 12 credits, had grade point averages sufficient for re-enrollment, and yet did not return. Of the 8,605 students in this category, 20 percent were sampled; 30 percent (509) of those sampled…

This research project was conducted to identify the reasons for the low retention rate for adult students enrolled in the prep level of the General Educational Development (GED) programs offered by the Clinton County (Pennsylvania) Development Center for Adults. All adult students who attended class at least once from July 1998 through January…

Many volunteer literacy tutors in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, have not completed their 1-year tutoring commitment. Consequently, an action research project was undertaken to determine the causes of the high tutor turnover and to identify ways of improving the tutor retention rate. All tutors involved in the program from 1998 onward were asked…