Discusses the way the notion of school completion is being cast, its supporting discourse, and the manner in which this has the potential to marginalize and exclude. Focus is not about why youths leave school before completion, but about how these youths assess their decisions to leave or not to leave in terms of the ideology regarding school…

Introduces a collection of papers that address the High/Scope Foundation's approach to risk reduction and dropout prevention. Examines High/Scope's history and describes various High/Scope efforts (e.g., the Michigan School Readiness Program Evaluation, preschool and elementary curriculum development and training, movement and music curriculum…

Presents analysis of impact of college counseling on student retention, documented with data from published study of unintentional effects of college counseling on primary and secondary prevention of dropouts. Examines both therapeutic effectiveness and economic considerations like costs and benefits. Argues for and demonstrates foundation of…

Asserts that education is the best long-term answer to hunger and disease. Poor families, which have 2.2 times higher the high school dropout rate than do nonpoor families, are much more susceptible to disease, accidents, death, and hunger. The U.S. and Canada have the highest level of poor children among industrialized countries. (DG)

According to some participating school administrators, the process of conforming to the standardized dropout reporting system required by a national pilot project to track dropouts has been time-consuming and expensive. California experienced difficulty with adding junior high statistics. Florida exerted negligible effort, using an already…

Data on the attendance and dropout rates of the Inmate Education Program at Brewer-Parker College, which provides higher education for eight correctional institutes in Georgia, were analyzed. Reasons for the high dropout rate included lack of motivation, lack of resource materials, students' lack of educational preparation, and attitude and…

Army enlistees with General Educational Development (GED) certificates who completed military service (1,894) were compared with 2,085 GED enlistees who dropped out. Completers had higher GED scores and Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery subtest scores. It was recommended that GED scores be an integral part of recruitment screening and a…

A transition program was developed which pairs learning-disabled high-school juniors with mentors. Mentor/protege teams work cooperatively to complete tasks related to the individual protege's goals. Preliminary results show increased graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates. (Author/PB)

Examines dropout tendencies in higher education, using nationally representative longitudinal surveys for the high school classes of 1972 and 1980. Dropping out has increased and is substantially higher in community colleges, technical institutes, and private vocational schools. Since dropouts earn few credits, federal policy regarding progress…

This study used a hazards model to examine the effects of family background, employment opportunity, and childbearing upon the dropout rate of youths from low-income households. Childbearing appeared to exert little influence on dropout. (JOW)

Most college students who default on federal loans come from low-income families and drop out of school within a year. Borrowers from more affluent families take out bigger loans, but stay in school longer, and are likely to secure steady employment and repay their loans. The Guaranteed Student Loan program seems designed for borrowers least…

Responses from 19 completers/noncompleters (65.5%) of a teaching certificate course showed that 7 of 8 currently teaching completed the course, whereas only 6 of 11 not teaching did, often due to lack of employer or family support. "Dropout" might be better termed "early completion" when students left after gaining all they…

Randomly assigned 147 families with aggressive child (age 4 to 9 years) to standard family treatment (SFT) focusing exclusively on parental management or to enhanced family treatment (EFT) that also promoted discussions of adult issues. EFT produced significantly lower dropout rate than SFT overall but particularly for high-adversity families.…

Conducted follow-up study of African American respondents (n=134) who participated in longitudinal study during undergraduate years to examine developmental similarities/differences between those who, 10 years after university matriculation, had earned baccalaureate degree and those who had not. Found that those who would ultimately earn…

At Albuquerque's visually appealing New Futures School, which combines academics with parenthood training and day care services, approximately 75 percent of pregnant teens and teenage mothers enrolled obtain a high school diploma. Compared with traditional schooling, few rules apply, except required prenatal care and no fighting. The newborns also…