In the past decade in the United States, pre-kindergarten programs for four year olds have expanded rapidly as a potentially powerful intervention intended to promote school readiness for children at-risk for future school failure. This paper describes in detail multi-dimensional profiles of observed quality across 692 classrooms in 11 states…

Discusses research on successful support programs for potential dropouts. Describes a Detroit high school's Ninth Grade Project 96 program, an intervention strategy for high-risk, low-achieving students. The program used a modified block schedule; attendance, academic, and monitoring interventions; incentives and rewards; and team teachers.…

The purpose of this study was to explore the risk, protective factors, and resiliency characteristics of students selected to participate in the Police, Public Educators and Peers Utilizing the Leadership Skills of Students At Risk/As Resources (PULSAR) program. The study is significant as it employed qualitative methods and a resiliency-focused…

Eastern Michigan University's opportunity program for underprepared students, called the Promote Academic Survival and Success (PASS) program, is described. The improvement of the students' reading and writing skills was emphasized. This was seen as the most direct way for the students' to achieve academic competence and self-integration. (MLW)

This document comprises part 1 of a two-part evaluation of the third-year implementation of the New York City Board of Education's 3-year high school Dropout Prevention Initiative (DPI). It describes the DPI and presents the evaluation findings and recommendations. (Part 2 comprises reports on 8 special substudies of the program in year 3.) The…

Describes general parameters used by school personnel in Kalispell, Montana, for choosing the Early Steps 1-to-1 early intervention program, a balanced approach with particular emphasis on story reading, writing, and phonological skills. Evaluates effectiveness of the program, finding it led to accelerated growth, particularly for children most at…

In 1974, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia created the developmental studies program in response to a growing number of entering freshmen who were inadequately prepared for curricula assuming mastery of the basic skills. Early attempts to evaluate developmental programs in Georgia simply used standard survey techniques to…

This fastback provides an overview of developmental education at the college level, focusing on what the concept means and how developmental education programs work. Developmental education is an umbrella term that includes both academic and social/psychological support services for underprepared students. Developmental education students are…

This document reports on the design and development of a comprehensive longitudinal monitoring system that allows for the identification of at-risk students and the evaluation of district programs and services by one high school and five elementary school districts in California and the School of Education at San Jose State University. The goal of…

This coordinator's handbook describes the "Rockin' Readers" program, in which senior-citizen volunteers are matched with specifically targeted at-risk children (usually of kindergarten age or slightly older) in Alachua County, Florida, who tested below their peer group in language development and reading readiness skills. The handbook…

Presented is the final technical report on the evaluation of the 1988-89 supplementary education programs of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District funded under Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act. The following major findings are reported: (1) extracurricular transportation costs, which had been reduced by…

Noting that one model for providing programs and individualized support to at-risk students is the oral communication laboratory, this paper describes the research and development of pilot programs within the laboratory setting for students at-risk at a four-year academic institution. The paper begins with a brief review of literature, a…

One of the programs funded by the Education Improvement Act in South Carolina was the child development program for 4-year-olds with readiness deficiencies placing them at risk for early school failure. This report presents the findings of three studies focusing on the characteristics of the child development programs and students, the academic…

An academic support program that integrates learning skills instruction into entry-level college courses is described and evaluated. The program is shown to have a positive effect upon student performance, attrition, and reenrollment patterns. Longitudinal shifts in grade distribution patterns are noted. (Author/MLW)

A family literacy program used "Be Excited about Reading" bags, which contained quality children's books and family activities that extended the classroom theme to be taken home by at-risk prekindergarten and kindergarten students. The literacy bags reached all families, encouraged family/school partnerships promoting children's learning, affected…