This paper uses data from the October Current Population Surveys, which involved 167,400 youth age 14-24 years who were subject to the risk of high school dropout, to examine the effects of race, ethnicity, and social background on high school students' dropout rates. Research indicates that between 1972 and 1998, the dropout rate was least among…

Describes the results of two experimental home economics courses for potential dropouts in inner city schools, the courses having been developed and tested in a cooperative research project. (JM)

A self-assessment scale was administered to adults in a high school equivalency program. After ten weeks, the scores of those who persisted were compared to those of dropouts. The self-concept of dropouts was found to be significantly different from that of persisters, providing a personality portrait useful in the identification of potential…

This survey of a national sample of 451 deaf adolescents found that many factors predicting attrition in general education also apply to deaf education. These include individual ability, local educational values, and demographic traits. Regional differences were also found, with programs in the southeast and southwest losing more students than…

Chicago, like many cities, suffers from a significant drop-out problem in its public high schools. The Chicago Public School system (CPS) committed itself in 2001 to utilize small schools--intimate learning environments of no more than 300 students built on communication, collaboration and meeting the needs of the community they serve--as a…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate differences in demographic variables and psychological variables between treatment completers and dropouts among abusive women in a treatment program for domestic violence offenders; and, (b) create a predictive model that would correctly identify women at greatest risk of dropping out…

This issue brief outlines the immediate need for more accurate dropout and graduation data, while providing a snapshot of work currently underway. By drawing on two prominent methods for calculating graduation rates: the National Governors Association's endorsed longitudinal approach and the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), this brief…

This study empirically explores the comparability of traditional survey-based retention research methodology with an alternative approach that relies on data commonly available in institutional student databases. Drawing on Tinto's [Tinto, V. (1993). "Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition" (2nd Ed.), The University…

We use data from the 1990/1994 Beginning Post-Secondary Survey to determine whether the factors associated with long-term attrition from higher education differ for students who initially enrolled part-time as compared to for students who initially enrolled full-time. Using a two-stage sequential decision model to analyze the initial enrollment…

Several studies have been conducted related to dropouts from on-campus and distance education courses. However, no clear definition of dropout from academic courses was provided. Consequently, this study proposes a clear and precise definition of dropout from academic courses in the context of e-learning courses. Additionally, it is documented in…

The core features of the preindustrial model of school-to-work transition are needed now. An environment must be recreated in which young people see the vital connections among education, training, and work that were once so clear. The emerging consensus model has these features: combined formal schooling and structured on-the-job training leading…

State legislation requires that the Texas Education Agency write a plan to reduce the state's cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to no more than 5 percent by 1997-98. This report presents the current plan, with current aggregate and disaggregate data on the dropout rate of students in grades 7 through 12 and projections for…

This study was conducted to compare the factors that student dropouts report as contributing to their dropping out of school with those factors that "at-risk" students report as influencing their attitudes toward school. These two sets of factors, assessed in two separate studies, include in-school and out-of-school experiences, socioeconomic…

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of at-risk students and review certain circumstances that affect their decisions to leave or stay in school. Mail survey responses were collected from 272 students (out of a total of 300) in 15 rural Tennessee high schools. The subjects were identified by their guidance counselors as being…

Between September 1, 1984, and August 31, 1985, a study examined the barriers to enrollment in and completion of postsecondary-level nontraditional vocational education programs in Florida. Data were collected from students and faculty members at 36 of Florida's 59 area vocational-technical centers and community colleges as well as from on-site…