This paper traces the process of designing and administering a structured survey on dropping out of school to demonstrate the means by which working with organizations and their clients impacts research methodology. A dropout accounting system had been developed for the Ysleta Independent School District, a district with an enrollment of 50,000…

This document analyzes the results of a follow-up study about specific factors that distinguish between students likely to drop out and those who stay in school and graduate. The dropout interview form, which was administered to dropouts in the original study, was revised and administered by counselors to 180 seniors who were in the lower four…

This resource handbook was designed to assist constituent school district personnel with the critical issues of student absenteeism and dropouts. From July 1982 through February 1983 and in May 1986, members of the Oakland County (Michigan) Attendance/Dropout Task Force met with educational and community agency personnel, graduating high school…

A design for improving the quality of information available for continuous operational study of student retention at the University of Hartford in Connecticut was examined involving a microcomputer based decision support system for student retention research. The system, an interactive modeling approach to conduct longitudinal and comparative…

Data were consolidated from 11 studies conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) between 1974 and 1981. The studies surveyed a total of 1,939 students, who left WRHC after attending at least one semester, to determine their educational objectives, current activities, employment characteristics, educational activities, and evaluation of…

A study was conducted to examine several academic and non-academic variables in terms of their relationship to student attrition at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC). The study sample consisted of 306 associate in arts degree-seeking students who first enrolled in fall 1981. Four groups of students, defined according to the last semester…

An overview is provided of problems and potential solutions associated with high dropout rates at community colleges. The first sections look at the extent and nature of the dropout problem, highlighting some of the causes of student discontinance, the costs to the individual and society, and the paradox of open access and student retention in…

In spring 1988, a survey was conducted of students who attended St. Louis Community College (SLCC) in fall 1987, did not graduate, and did not return for the spring semester. A questionnaire was mailed to 20% (N=2,270) of the fall 1987 non-returning students, requesting information on educational goals, attainment of or progress toward these…

This report provides data on public and private high school graduates and dropouts in Kentucky. The introduction contains tables and graphs comparing the career directions (attending college or trade school, military, working, at home, unemployed, deceased, homemakers, and unknown) of Kentucky graduates in 1968 and 1983 and enrollment patterns…

This report presents results of a study conducted to obtain information on student retention and attrition at Gainesville Junior College (GJC). After introductory material discusses the college's problems in the areas of recruitment and retention, section I presents findings from a study of 1,053 of the 1,689 students taking course work at GJC in…

An analysis is provided of student retention and attrition at Gainesville Junior College (GJC). Section I presents background information on the college's service area and the characteristics of its students. Section II presents results of a study of 1,590 of 1,762 students enrolled at GJC in fall 1983. This section examines: (1) retention rates…

This article reviews the literature on university student attrition and comments on general implications for secondary school counselors. The reasons that dropouts leave school are assessed, e.g., lack of interaction with faculty, a perceived lack of progress, and financial/family problems; and characteristics of non-returning students are…

This study was conducted to explore the retentive effects of vocational education and the labor market effects of vocational education and dropping out of high school. Data were gathered from the New Youth Cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Force Behavior (NLS Youth) supplemented by high school transcripts. An explanatory model…

This document reviews the literature on elementary and secondary school dropouts and notes the effects and possible solutions to the dropout problem. Statistical findings about dropouts from the 1960's to the present are presented along with methods of predicting who the dropouts will be. Dropout characteristics, including psychological, social,…

In order to ascertain the effect of open admissions by investigating the graduation rate of basic skills students, a follow-up study was conducted of the 1,728 students who entered Queensborough Community College in fall 1970 and who were assigned to remedial reading and/or writing. Of a total enrollment of 3,230, 24% or 774 students were…