Describes an instruction and workshop inservice program on dropout identification, interpersonal communication and classroom management techniques provided by a consultant team for middle school personnel. Recommendations include some alternative curricula, monitoring of student participation, and administrative commitment. (JAC)

Synthesizes the literature on community college student retention programs to develop a definition and typology of dropout prevention programs. Classifies programs and strategies based on whether they attempt to sort, support, connect, or transform students. (61 references.) (MAB)

Examined extent to which high-risk students identified school staff as significant others, and whether relationship between students and these staff members had effect on students' decision to remain in or drop out of school. Findings from high school students did not support hypothesis that students who had significant other adult in school would…

Provides a review of conceptual perspectives on the salient issues affecting student retention in higher education generally, and minority student retention in particular, over the past few decades. Also summarizes programmatic strategies implemented at institutions as examples of student retention initiatives that have had significant impacts.…

Surveys of 2,621 Anglo and Mexican-American secondary school students and dropouts in the Southwest found that individuals participating in extracurricular activities were 2.3 times more likely to remain in school than nonparticipants. For Mexican Americans, high levels of Anglo ethnic identity were related to being in school and having positive…

This study examines the attitudes and future plans of students who discontinued their studies in university certificate programs. These non-returning students were separated into three groups: opt-outs, stop-outs, and drop-outs. Two separate surveys were undertaken; one survey consisted of students enrolled in a certificate program offered by the…

Too many students are falling through the cracks of our educational system and dropping out of school. A program called Extended-Day School (EDS) was implemented in Franklin County, Tennessee, to help high school students with specific subjects. EDS sought to deal with several problems of at-risk students: fewer study aids, little parent…

This report presents the dropout rate for students in grades 9 through 12 in the School District of the City of Saginaw (Michigan) for the 1991-1992 academic year. Student enrollment and dropout data are presented for each junior high and high school in the district, showing that 128 (4.4%) of the 2,906 secondary school students in grades 9-12…

This paper examines available information on early identification of students at risk of prematurely dropping out of school. Many factors such as drug use, lowered educational achievement, delinquency, and unemployment appear to be consequences of dropping out, yet cause and effect is often difficult to define. A variety of school related,…

Two films were evaluated to determine their effectiveness in reducing attrition among Marine Corps recruits. The films were a realistic job preview of military training and a stress-coping film. Platoons of Marine recruits were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: viewing the realistic job preview film, viewing the stress-coping film,…

The purpose of the Early Elementary Attendance Project was to improve school attendance in the early grades (kindergarten and first grade) in order to develop good attendance habits that would continue through the post elementary grades. A home/school worker approached families of students (N=77) with poor attendance records with a helping…

This paper results from the collaborative work of Research for Better Schools, Inc., with the state staffs of Pennsylvania and Maryland on the problem of students at risk. It highlights the ways in which the problem is being defined, the data sets that are being used to suggest the magnitude of the problem, and the studies that are being used to…

In June, 1987, the San Juan (California) Unified School District's Research and Evaluation Department prepared a summary of dropout data available which indicated that San Juan's dropout rate was between 22 and 25 percent over a 3-year period. In the fall of 1987, the department conducted a study of the characteristics of students who had dropped…

Results of questionnaires (n=5,000) mailed to college dropouts indicate that: (1) most students left their freshman year; (2) they did not discusss their decision with university personnel; and (3) their reasons were academic difficulties, personal-emotional problems, and external-environmental pressures. (Author)

Michael Scott, starting from the bottom as a dropout and using the Job Corps, the Marines, the State Employment Service, the Veterans Administration, and the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA), has moved up from trainee at the MDTA Skill Center to office manager. (BP)