Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) is an independent, non-profit organization with a vision for schools that work for all children. It partnered with Coca-Cola in 1984 and began a dropout prevention program just as it was conducting the first comprehensive study of school dropouts in Texas. Its annual studies since then have…

This report explores two questions: (1) What can be done to recover and reconnect young people to opportunities for building useful lives in work, family, and citizenship? and (2) Who is doing what, and where, to reengage out-of-school youth while working to strengthen the communities in which they live? Focusing on the positive, the American…

High school dropouts are usually academic underachievers who adjust to social environments with difficulty. When they leave school, they develop even greater behavior problems and have more trouble getting employment than do high school graduates. To prevent dropouts, schools try to find funds for dropout prevention programs, work with agencies…

Higher standards in public schools have made it necessary for educational reformers to identify at-risk students and to develop effective programs for preventing their failure. This pamphlet begins by delineating the characteristics of at-risk students and discussing evaluation instruments that are useful for identifying such students. Successful…

In an effort to increase retention rates among nursing assistant program students, an open-entry/open-exit competency-based individualized program was implemented in 1990 at a small vocational skills center serving low-socioeconomic adult students. This change was instituted in response to a growing drop-out rate and to difficulties expressed by…

This bibliography update contains information on dropout attitudes, prevention, programs, rates, and research, as well as school-holding power at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Citations include conference papers, program descriptions, research reports, and statistical materials. Materials for inclusion in this bibliography were located…

A study assessed the impact of the Career Intern Program (CIP) on participating students. (The CIP is an alternative high school designed to enable disadvantaged and alienated dropouts or potential dropouts to earn regular high school diplomas, to prepare them for meaningful employment or postsecondary education, and to facilitate their transition…