A study of a cohort in the school district of Saginaw, Michigan was begun in Fall 1986. The primary aim of the study was to follow the students from the time they entered high school until they left, either by graduation, transferal, or termination. The specific cohort in the study was the 1986-87 sophomore class scheduled to be the graduating…

The Los Angeles Unified School District has funded several innovative prevention/recovery programs to determine indicators that will help local schools identify the potential early leaver. This annual study for the 1983-84 school year examines the number of students in grades 10 through 12 who left school without a diploma. Findings cover all…

The Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) developed a Dropout Retrieval Project with the following aims: (1) to identify and retrieve the dropout students aged 16 to 21; (2) to bring the students back to educational programs which would lead to the completion of their education; and (3) to develop plans to prevent future dropouts. This report…

This document presents the executive summary of a research project undertaken to provide a national overview of the dimensions of the dropout problem, focusing specifically on gender differences; and to identify strategies that are being used to address the dropout problem, assess effectiveness of these strategies, and suggest ways that these…

This document discusses state initiatives to address the dropout problem by presenting an overview of programmatic strategies states are using to meet the needs of dropout-prone youth and school dropouts and strategies to finance these efforts. It provides a framework for understanding current state programs and then presents an overview of…

BASED ON DATA FROM 61 RESPONSES TO 100 QUESTIONNAIRES, THIS FOLLOWUP STUDY OF THE DISCONTINUING STUDENT AT GROSSMONT COLLEGE SHOWS THAT HE IS TYPICALLY A DAY STUDENT, IS MARRIED, HAS NOT DONE MILITARY SERVICE, IS WORKING A 26-40 HOUR WEEK, HAS PARENTS WITH ABOUT 12 YEARS OF SCHOOLING, HAS ONE PARENT AT THE PROFESSIONAL OR MANAGERIAL LEVEL, AND…

To determine whether needed components of the career education program were directed toward the potential Mesa school dropouts, a study was made of their characteristics. Samples used were an exhaustive sample of the 431 dropouts of the 1972-1973 school year and a random sample of the 1973-1974 potential dropouts (those students over age 16 or…

The project reported here considers community college students who quit within a semester of study, as opposed to not finishing an entire college program. The latter subject has commanded the better part of the attention devoted to the college dropout. Community college faculty and administrative staff admit to a fairly high dropout rate for…

Describes the goals and substantial achievements of Operation Success, a school-based program aimed at bringing dropouts back into school and serving those on the verge of dropping out. Also discusses students' reasons for dropping out, strategies for case management, and the coordination of funding. (RDN)

Undecided freshmen persisting to college graduation were compared with undecided freshmen who left college by the end of their fourth quarter. At the time of their departure, 72 percent of the leavers were not in good academic standing; stayers had higher ACT scores than leavers. It was concluded that the undecided, though diverse, represent a…

Discusses the relationship of dropping out of school to unemployment and disadvantaged conditions, along with the characteristics of dropouts and potential dropouts. Presents a framework for dropout prevention which suggests services or instructional strategies which can be used by vocational educators. (CT)

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Stimulus Shell Game?: U.S. Department of Education's Inspector General Warns that Some States are Using Education…

What is the relationship between retention, drop-out and graduation rates? Retention of low-achieving students is one of the most controversial and complex issues educational leaders face, despite a half century of research that has shown consistently that any gains in achievement are short-lived, and the long-term effects for retained students…

We tested the hypotheses derived from investment theory that quality of alternatives and institutional preference exert additive and interactive effects on institutional commitment in a sample of 1166 first-year college students at a large state university, who were surveyed within two weeks of the start of their first semester. As predicted, a…

This paper provides important new insights into the reasons for the observed gap in educational attainment between children of immigrants and natives in Denmark using a dynamic discrete model of educational choices to determine at what stages of their educational careers children of immigrants face barriers to educational progression and how…