This study examined the prediction of dropouts through data mining approaches in an online program. The subject of the study was selected from a total of 189 students who registered to the online Information Technologies Certificate Program in 2007-2009. The data was collected through online questionnaires (Demographic Survey, Online Technologies…

Mathematics and science course graduation requirement (CGR) increases in the 1980s and 1990s might have had both intended and unintended consequences. Using logistic regression with Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data (n = 2,892,444), we modeled CGR exposure on (a) high school dropout, (b) beginning college, and (c) obtaining any…

This research investigates causes of the widening Black-White gap in dropout rates during the 2000s using two cohorts of National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, NLSY79 and NLSY97. The authors found four factors which contributed to the widening of the Black-White gap: school suspension policies, peer impact, fatherless households, and the…

Fourteen member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum have adopted The Pacific Education Development Framework as a means of improving quality of education across the region. Within this framework, special education and inclusive education are seen as priority areas that endorse a rights-based approach to education. Aligned with other Pacific…

Retention research rarely differentiates between students dismissed from an institution for poor academic performance versus students leaving by choice. As a proxy for studying academic dismissal, this study investigated differences between students leaving college in academic jeopardy after the first year (<2.00 grade point average) and those…

The researchers surveyed 23 North Carolina high schools that had markedly improved their graduation rates over the past five years. The administrators reported on the dropout prevention practices and programs to which they attributed their improved graduation rates. The majority of schools reported policy changes, especially with suspension. The…

An alarming number of students drop out of junior high school in developing countries. In this study, we examine the impacts of providing a social-emotional learning (SEL) program on the dropout behavior and learning anxiety of students in the first two years of junior high. We do so by analyzing data from a randomized controlled trial involving…

School failure is substantive in Spain. The percentage of students that do not achieve the compulsory education diploma is around 20%. School failure is higher for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Students who "fail" cannot continue to post-compulsory education and, sooner or later, they have to leave formal education. The…

Since 2012, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has maintained a statewide predictive analytics system providing schools with an early warning in middle grades of students at risk for not completing high school. DPI is considering extending and enhancing this system, known as the Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS). The proposed…

This article examines changes in completion rates and time-to-degree in Norwegian doctoral training over the last 30 years. A steadily increasing share of doctoral candidates holding a fellowship have been awarded their doctoral degree within five years; from 30% of those admitted in 1980 to 60% of those admitted 25 years later. Furthermore, the…

In this article, the determinants of "time to dropout" from doctoral studies and "time to PhD completion" are studied using a discrete-time competing risks survival analysis for a sample of 3092 doctoral candidates from the Université libre de Bruxelles. Not surprisingly, results show that students supported with research…

Although online learning is expanding in availability and popularity, the high dropout rates remain a challenging problem. In this paper, we reviewed the existing empirical studies on online course dropouts in post-secondary education that were published during the last 10 years. We identified 69 factors that influence students' decisions to…

Using longitudinal data of 18-to 20-year-old youths from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), the present analysis identified and profiled Canadian postsecondary education dropouts based on the theoretical framework of Tinto (1993). Pertaining to characteristics of pre-postsecondary education conditions, dropouts tended to be male, set low…

This prospective study of 276 Virginia public high schools found that the prevalence of teasing and bullying (PTB) as perceived by both 9th-grade students and teachers was predictive of dropout rates for this cohort 4 years later. Negative binomial regression indicated that one standard deviation increases in student- and teacher-reported PTB were…

MDRC develops and studies programs to help young people who face major barriers in finding a path to stable adult life. Their recent roster of youth-related projects mainly targets three groups: at-risk high school students; dropouts disconnected from school and work; and system-involved youth at risk of disconnection, including youth exiting…