A SAMPLE OF 15-YEAR-OLDS WAS LOCATED AND TESTED AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF PROJECT TALENT, A NATIONAL INVENTORY OF APTITUDES AND ABILITIES OF HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH. A PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF ALL 15-YEAR-OLDS IN THE UNITED STATES WAS ESTABLISHED, CONSISTING OF 4 1/2 PERCENT OF ALL SUBJECTS IN GRADES 9 THROUGH 12 AND LESS THAN ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT OF ALL…

The college careers of freshmen entering Fall 1960 day sessions at City, Brooklyn, Hunter and Queens Colleges of City University were studied to ascertain how many succeeded in attaining a college degree, how many dropped out, and why. Of the 7,848 freshmen admitted at the 4 colleges, 48% graduated within 4 years and 71% within 7 years from the…

A survey of the school dropout problem in the United States focuses attention on (1) defining school dropouts, (2) the magnitude of the dropout problem, (3) types and extent of research on school dropouts, (4) why pupils drop out of school, (5) factors leading to early school withdrawal, (6) what happens to school dropouts, (7) employment…

The attendance patterns of the 5,697 nongraduating students enrolled at the Grand Valley State Colleges over the period from fall 1975 to fall 1977 is examined. The analysis shows that: of the 256 possible combinations of attendance patterns over the eight terms from winter 1976 to fall 1977, nongraduating students were in 187 of these patterns;…

This is the last in a series of three studies dealing with Vermonters' aspirations and demands for education beyond the secondary level, and the problems of their access to it. The focus is on high school graduates and addresses the wide disparity between demonstrated aspiration to attend some form of postsecondary education, and actual enrollment…

Is there an effective way to reduce freshman attrition at Duke University? If a group of freshman students preidentified as exit prone is provided with more advising time from a member of the ranked faculty, then the rate of attrition from this exit-prone group will be less than the attrition rate for the rest of the freshman cohort. Is there a…

Approximately half of the 7,000,000 students currently enrolled in college will fail to complete their education. This study investigates the causes of this high attrition rate by examining the records of 1,454 undergraduates who dropped out of Harvard College for various reasons over a 5-year period. Sources of the data were: (1) Registrar's…

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics which describe high school dropouts. The investigation attempted to identify variables which would assist in differentiating persisters and withdrawals at Northeast High School in Kansas City, Missouri and in predicting dropouts at East High School on the basis of variable weightings drawn…

The basic objective of this exploratory study was to attempt to locate specific areas of university life that might be related to undergraduate student attrition. During the 1972-73 academic year at the University of Miami, student satisfaction and dissatisfaction in 34 areas of University of Miami student life were examined (via four field…

This discussion of attrition in foreign language instruction in high schools focuses on two questions: How many students drop out? and Why do they drop out? In the first part, the 1970 figures for enrollments in foreign languages in public secondary schools are examined. The overall decline of -1.5% reflects a decrease in Course I enrollments but…

A study was conducted to scrutinize school factors related to dropouts at the secondary level. One senior secondary school comprised the sample for the study. Telephone interviews were conducted with the dropouts; these interviews were loosely structured. and the interviewer encouraged students to talk generally about their school experiences. The…

This report presents a University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign questionnaire form designed to approach a random sample of upper classmen who dropped out but were in good academic standing. The questionnaire was expanded to sample three other groups of students: upperclassmen dropouts who were on academic probation at the end of their last…

Two concurrent studies, full and part-time students enrolled in 1968 and in 1971, were undertaken at Santa Fe Community College to investigate student attrition. The 1968 sample consisted of 43% females and 56% males, with 50% ranging in age from 17 to 20, and 34% married. The graduate group was 40% of the total, but there was no significant…

The primary objective of the Three-Year Nor Cal Attrition Study was to demonstrate that community colleges could overcome the "revolving door" problem and help potential dropouts. It was further realized that the rich descriptive data base that Nor Cal had collected could be of use to the entire academic community. Although grand totals…

This study examines how a teacher's race and behavior effects his ability to maintain high classroom attendance with black adult students. (Author/RM)