This report proposes that not enough good data or research has been done to settle the debate over whether testing affects high school dropout rates. Advocates argue that the threat of missing out on a diploma or of being retained motivates students to work harder, resulting in higher academic achievement. Critics argue that failing a high school…

Research into the psychological-motivational bases of adult participation to determine the reasons why people do not perservere in adult high school programs. (RB)

Reviews research on the characteristics of the dropout (relationships, socioeconomic status, attitudes, behavior, school performance); the economic and social costs of dropping out; and current efforts for dropout assistance or dropout prevention. (SJL)

The State-funded Attendance Improvement/Dropout Prevention program and the City-funded Dropout Prevention Program distributed over $30 million to the New York City Board of Education in 1985-86. This document is a summary report of an analysis of program implementation in the schools receiving these funds aimed at better understanding of political…

This report presents results of an extensive study undertaken to determine the factors contributing to the high dropout rate in the Los Angeles Unified School District, to review options offered to students, and to make recommendations for addressing the dropout problem. First, a list of the 27 people who formed the study committee is provided. A…

Described are the items, format, factor structure, and application of a 23 item Semantic Differential type Dropout Prediction Scale. (Author)

If the nation is to truly meet the goal of every child a graduate, everybody must hold schools responsible for graduating every student with a regular diploma, particularly poor and minority students. Unfortunately, current education accountability systems virtually ignore high school graduation rates. This brief summarizes such shortcomings in…

The "National Dropout Prevention Newsletter" is published quarterly by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Why Do I Have to Learn This?; (2) 2008 NDPN Crystal Star Winners; (3) Effective Freshman Transition for School Improvement (David Livingston, John Greene, and Lindy Stahlman); (4)…

Research shows that peer status in adolescence is positively associated with school achievement and adjustment. However, subculture theories of juvenile delinquency and school-based ethnographies suggest that: (1) disadvantaged boys are often able to gain some forms of peer status through violence; and (2) membership in violent groups undermines…

A 2006 study of apprentices commencing with a Group Training Organisation in an Australian regional centre identified factors that appear to support apprentices in their first year. The research demonstrates that school subject selection and access to work-related experiences while still at school make an important difference to completion of the…

This paper presents a synthesis of the literature reporting the experiences nationally of alternative schools, particularly in the realm of preventing school dropouts and reaching those who have already left school. Characteristics of alternative schools are described, including structure, reputation, and purposes. The dropout problem is…

THE PURPOSES OF THIS COOPERATIVE STUDY WERE TO LEARN (1) WHETHER POTENTIAL DROPOUTS CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY DEFINITE CHARACTERISTICS, (2) THE TYPE OF GUIDANCE SUCCESSFUL IN HOLDING STUDENTS IN SCHOOL, (3) REASONS STUDENTS GIVE FOR DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL AND THE GRADES AND AT WHICH AGES THEY DROP OUT, AND (4) THE SCHOLASTIC ABILITY OF THE DROPOUTS.…

This article explores how employment affects the likelihood of dropout among high school students in Baltimore, a high-poverty city with a high dropout rate. Among 15-year-olds, those with teen jobs (e.g., lawn mowing, babysitting, etc.) were less than one third as likely to drop out as those who took adult-type jobs (manufacturing or business).…

STUDIES FROM OTHER STATES WERE REVIEWED TO DETERMINE THE MORE COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF DROPOUTS. FORMS WERE SENT TO ALL HIGH SCHOOLS IN NORTH DAKOTA FOR REPORTING PUPIL DROPOUTS. THE FIRST SET OF 229 DROPOUT FORMS RETURNED WAS ANALYZED, AND THE FOLLOWING DATA FOR DROPOUTS ARE GIVEN--SEX, RACE, PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT, PROGRAM OF STUDIES, GENERAL…