Four essays and associated introductory text constituting the proceedings of a symposium on dropout research issues are presented. The introduction by Glynn Ligon makes a call for considering what is known about dropouts, what is needed to be known about dropouts, and how these findings can be communicated to educators, the public, and lawmakers.…

This publication is the second of two dropout reports prepared in 1988-89 for the Houston (Texas) Independent School District. The first report presented dropout data for each of the district's secondary schools as well as for the district as a whole. This follow-up report on HISD's 1988-89 dropouts presents a districtwide perspective on…

This paper describes a study by the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) to determine its membership's opinions on priorities and expertise regarding the dropout problem. ACRES members, primarily rural special-education teachers, parents, and collateral service workers, were surveyed about the dropout problem and what research they…

The JOBSTART demonstration was carried out between August 1985 and October 1986 to gain information on effective ways to solve the problem of high unemployment rates and low skills levels of many high school dropouts. JOBSTART was targeted to disadvantaged high school dropouts, and provided them with basic educational and occupational skills…

Glendale (Arizona) Community College (GCC) conducted a survey of students who attended the college in fall 1984 and did not return for the spring 1985 term to determine former students' perceptions of GCC, reasons for not reenrolling, educational goals, transfer and employment experiences, salaries, and characteristics. Study findings, based on…

A sample of students who withdrew from Mesa (Arizona) Community College (MCC) during spring 1986 was surveyed to determine reasons for withdrawal and dropout characteristics. Study findings included the following: (1) the primary reason for withdrawing was conflicting job hours, with 52% of the students who were employed working over 40 hours per…

Many studies of dropouts have examined race, gender, ethnic background, and socioeconomic status as factors predisposing students to drop out of school. A study was conducted to examine the school-related factors influencing high school students' decision to drop out, as well as the attitudes of high school dropouts toward public education today.…

The hierarchical clustering technique was used to differentiate college dropouts from persisters, and to determine how student clusters differ from one another on relevant outcome variables. Subjects were 618 freshmen who entered a community college with the intention of completing a two-year associate degree. There were 432 persisters who…

A study examined the difficulties encountered by first-year, part-time Technical and Further Education (TAFE) students that cause them to consider withdrawing from, and in many cases, dropping out of their TAFE programs. Questionnaires were administered to 4,150 early withdrawers (persons who dropped out between January 1 and May 16, 1986), 2,940…

This paper suggests that the current wave of educational reform carries with it a conception of "excellence" derived from concern for the productivity of the nation's human potential. First, differing concepts of excellence are addressed, followed by a discussion of recent educational reforms that are perceived as threats to students who…

Techniques for conducting student-attrition studies using the Student-Outcomes Information Service (SOIS) are outlined. General concepts to effectively guide an institutional research effort are discussed, with attention to better defining student attrition and a summary of results of recent research on the reasons why students withdraw from…

This paper focuses on data concerning the characteristics, attitudes, and school experiences of rural dropouts. The discussion, which draws largely upon the High School and Beyond database, considers two primary concerns. The first deals with differences between rural dropouts and their rural counterparts who stayed in school. Areas of inquiry…

Examined in this paper are the effects of school characteristics on both the probability of dropping out and absenteeism as the strongest predictor of dropping out. The project employed a subsample from the High School and Beyond database that contains results from questionnaires and achievement tests given in 1980 to approximately 30,000…

A research project examined the effectiveness of using personal tutors/counselors in distance education programs as a means of reducing student attrition. In the experiment, one person integrated the roles of different tutors in different subjects as well as the role of the student advisor in the ordinary distance education system. The main…

Drawing from literature and research conducted at Prince George's Community College (PGCC), this report discusses student retention in community colleges in the U.S.; outlines retention indicators and strategies; and presents a summary of findings from PGCC's retention studies. After a brief overview of the challenge of student retention in the…