The federal requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have placed a new focus on increasing graduation rates and reducing dropout rates. While the dropout problem has generated research and new programs over the last 30 years, the dropout rate has remained relatively unchanged. Students drop out of school for many reasons, and the…

No Child Left Behind legislation has triggered increased attention toward closing the achievement gap. Of particular importance is the need to improve African American male outcomes in education. The Jefferson County Public School System (JCPS) has embarked on one such effort with the implementation of the Street Academy Pilot Program. Evaluation…

This study used data for a representative sample of 8th graders from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. The intent was to (1) compare student's dropout status with variables such as demographics, academic and economic factors, limited English proficiency status, and other risk factors of dropping out, (2) distinguish factors…

This report contains six tables of summary statistics for the public schools of New York State, including schools in New York City. The public schools of New York served 2,637,745 students as of February 1994. Information about these students, their teachers, and the schools they attended, is presented in the following tables: (1) District type;…

This sixth annual edition of the West Virginia Kids Count data book examines county and statewide trends in the well-being of West Virginia's children, focusing on brain development and educational initiatives for children from birth to 3 years of age. The statistical portrait is based on 11 well-being indicators: (1) percent low birthweight…

This national study of doctoral students examined various components of human capital and their effects upon doctoral students' experiences and achievement. Participants were 13,160 graduate students in 11 fields from 21 universities, including all African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American students, 300 white…

This Kids Count factbook presents statistical data and examines trends for 10 indicators of children's well-being in Georgia. The indicators are: (1) low birthweight babies; (2) infant mortality; (3) child deaths; (4) teen deaths by accident, homicide, and suicide; (5) juvenile arrests; (6) reading and math scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills;…

The opportunity and right to obtain a free public education provides the opportunity for all Americans to achieve success socially, financially, and professionally. The public education system has endured decades of changes as it attempts to address social, cultural, and academic issues that arise as the nation evolves. The public education system…

Eighty-seven percent of all Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) students instructed during 2002-03 were continuously enrolled (CE) in one school from the first week of the school year until the last day of school. Across grade levels CE percentages steadily increased from only 82% in kindergarten to 94% in grade 12, except for a dip to 83% in…

The "achievement gap" is a matter of race and class. Across the U.S., a gap in academic achievement persists between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts. This is one of the most pressing education-policy challenges that states currently face. For decades, policymakers, researchers, and school reformers have…

This report uses a unique set of data obtained from the Kids Integrated Data System (KIDS), which is housed at the University of Pennsylvania's Cartographic Modeling Laboratory. The KIDS system merges individual-level data on young people from the School District of Philadelphia and the city's social service agencies, including the Department of…

This paper explores the complex, hierarchical relationship among school characteristics, individual differences in academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and socioeconomic background on performance on the SAT Reasoning Test™ verbal and mathematical sections. Using multilevel structural equation models (SEMs) with latent means, data from…

Commissioned by the College Board's National Task Force on Minority High Achievement, this report describes higher education programs and strategies that have the capacity to help many more minority students distinguish themselves academically on the undergraduate level. Chapters included in this report are: (1) Introduction; (2) The Challenge;…

Maintains scientists may study topics that are of personal interest. Reports on a study of social backgrounds of 405 sociologists. Finds confirmation that women and ethnic minorities belong disproportionately to sex/gender and race/ethnic specializations. (CFR)

Background: This study investigated associations among adolescents' self-esteem in 6 domains (peers, school, family, sports/athletics, body image and global self-worth) and risk behaviours related to substance use, bullying, suicidality and sexuality. Method: A multistage stratified sampling strategy was used to select a representative sample of…