The Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) program was created to prevent at-risk students from low-income families from dropping out of high school. Students aged 14 or 15 years old entering 9th or 10th grade went to a college campus for 60 days during the summer to attend English and mathematics classes, work 20 hours per week, and receive…

A study was conducted to identify new points of intervention into the education and social development of economically and educationally disadvantaged youth considered at risk of dropping out of school and never successfully participating in the labor market. The demographic characteristics of the target population were studied, as well as past…

Specific access and retention studies and programs focused on minority students at the undergraduate level are reviewed, along with recent research on general retention efforts. General retention strategies concern: pre-enrollment, admissions, financial aid, orientation, academic programs, faculty-student interaction, counseling and advising,…

This study focuses on school system characteristics that affect the dropout rate in the Chicago public high schools. Although the primary variable for investigation is attendance rate, other school system variables examined include type of school, percentage of low-income students in a school, and the overall level of student ability for a school…

The Urban Education Network is comprised of the largest school districts in 14 states. In December 1985 the Network hosted a conference for its members on efforts to improve teaching and learning in urban schools. The following papers presented at the conference are included: (1) "Thinking about the Undoable: Dropout Programs" (Dale…

Education should not be thought of as being confined within traditional, formal education, but as embracing all learning processes and activities. Formal and informal systems of learning have specific roles to play within the educational process, while maintaining close cooperative linkages with each other. In other words, education is a lifelong…

Students at Indiana University, Bloomington who were enrolled in the University Division in the 1979 spring or summer semester but who did not reenroll in the 1979 fall semester were surveyed. The 687 responding students were classified as academic dismissals (32 percent), voluntary withdrawals, (51 percent), or intercampus transfers (17 percent),…

This research note reviews an analysis of Moraine Valley Community College nonpersisting students for fall 1977 and spring 1978. Information is provided on trends in transfer and occupational student retention by semester from spring 1970 through fall/spring 1977-78, and on fall 1977 and spring 1978 persister and nonpersister characteristics. Of…

A study identified causal linkages and basic interrelationships among components of the Career Intern Program (CIP) and observed outcomes. (The CIP is an alternative high school designed to enable disadvantaged and alienated dropouts or potential dropouts to earn regular high school diplomas, to prepare them for meaningful employment or…

This booklet explains how service learning can be used to encourage out-of-school youth to return to an education program. The booklet begins with a discussion of the term "out-of-school youth" that includes the early warning signals indicating a potential for dropping out of school and circumstances and characteristics of potential…

This fact sheet highlights statistics related to the transition into high school for U.S. students. The statistics indicate a noticeable trend in the lack of progress of many students throughout freshman year. Many students are held back in ninth grade--creating what is known as the "ninth grade bulge"--and drop out by tenth grade--contributing to…

This article uses data obtained from a study that examined transition experiences of young people with moderate learning disabilities. A comparison is made between those experiences and the experiences of both other vulnerable young people and non-disabled youth. It was found that non-disabled youth experience extended transitions with events that…

Background: Studies suggest that expert performance in sport is the result of long-term engagement in a highly specialized form of training termed deliberate practice. The relationship between accumulated deliberate practice and performance predicts that those who begin deliberate practice at a young age accumulate more practice hours over time…

While there continues to be a high number of teacher candidates persisting in their efforts to become teachers, the numbers tell a different story for American Indian teachers. The National Center for Educational Statistics reported that less than one percent of the teaching force in the United States was American Indian during the 2002 academic…

This paper asks whether employment during high school impacts youths' grade point average. Unlike much of the prior literature, it allows for the endogeneity of the hours and dropout decisions, uses ASVAB test scores, and tests whether youth employment is dynamic. The results indicate that high school employment and its lag have small, negative…