Information was collected in 1993 from students who withdrew from courses in mid-term at a community college either because they were dropping a course or departing from the college. This report documents withdrawal patterns of students during the calendar year of 1994. Self-reported reasons for course/college withdrawal were identified and…

This study used survival analysis (also called event history analysis) to investigate how long specially admitted students at Northern Illinois University persist, in which year of their education they are most likely to leave, and if the risk of leaving school is affected by personal and academic background characteristics. Specially admitted…

This study examined the complexities of adjustment to college and its effect on the college student's intent-to-persist in college. The study mailed survey questionnaires (a combination of the "Anticipated Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire" and the "Social Propensity Scale") to a random sample of first-time,…

The problems associated with truancy and failure to complete school in the state of Maine were examined by an advisory committee of legislators and personnel from schools, prisons, and state government. The committee was directed to describe the incidence of the truancy and dropping out, to ascertain some of the causes of these problems, and to…

Despite statewide standards, the accuracy of statistical data on dropouts reported by New Jersey schools appears to vary considerably from district to district. Moreover, statewide dropout rates differ significantly depending on the method of calculation used. Several different methodologies, which incorporate unverified information collected from…

Two sets of analyses were done to examine the "holding power" of ninth grade courses. The first looked at the courses taken by high-risk students who were in the ninth grade in 1978-79. The second set of analyses looked at the courses taken by high-risk students from a dropout study who were in the ninth grade in 1979-80. Only three…

A longitudinal design was employed to study the relationship between drug use and school dropout in a general high school population. The results supported previously reported findings by demonstrating greater use of most licit and illicit drug categories by school dropouts following their withdrawal from school. (Author)

This document provides information on the number of secondary school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) who left school before graduating in the 1982-83 school term. Data on early leavers received from 132 high schools concerned: (1) grade; (2) sex; (3) date of birth; (4) ethnicity; and (5) reason for leaving. The…

This manual outlines the procedure for counting dropouts from the Nevada schools. The State Department of Education instituted a new dropout counting procedure to its student accounting system in January 1988 as part of its response to recommendations of a task force on at-risk youth. The count is taken from each secondary school and includes…

It is argued that because the term "dropout" has different meanings in different systems of distance education, it is difficult to compare dropout rates of two or more distance education universities. Two very different European distance education systems, the FernUniversitat in West Germany and the Swedish system, are examined.…

In the 1988-89 school year, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District's Office of Research and Evaluation undertook a new dropout research project. Part of this initiative, termed Project GRAD, attempted to develop a statistical equation by which one could predict which students were likely to drop out. If reliable predictive information…

This study examines the reasons why Hispanic youth drop out of school. Three groups of Hispanic interviewers gathered information from a total of 245 Hispanic dropouts. Eighteen teachers interviewed 140 dropouts, 15 adolescents interviewed 72 dropouts, and 33 businessmen, of whom 6 responded to the interview for a relative who had dropped out. The…

This report reviews the literature on early departure from school in America, both past and present, in order to ascertain why students drop out of school, what the consequences are for the students who do so, and what schools can do to reduce the dropout rate. After a brief historical perspective on the problem, the social and economic costs of…

Students drop out of school because of a variety of family, economic, and racial factors that can be categorized as either alienation, lack of motivation, or disadvantage. The key to reducing the dropout rate is helping youth to overcome their sense of disconnection. Students with low motivation to attend school have shown improvement in school…

In spring 1984, a three-part withdrawal study was conducted at Glendale (Arizona) Community College (GCC) to investigate reasons for course withdrawal, and official and unofficial college withdrawal. Study findings, based on responses from 138 students who withdrew from courses, 282 students who officially withdrew from GCC, and 9 students who…