Children in communities across Colorado--whether large or small, rural or urban, on the Eastern Plains or the Western Slope--face opportunities and obstacles to reaching their full potential. While some challenges are similar, many are very different depending on the community environment and the resources available to support children and…

Wisconsin's influential Learnfare initiative is a conditional cash penalty program that sanctions a family's welfare grant when covered teens fail to meet school attendance targets. In the presence of reference-dependent preferences, Learnfare provides uniquely powerful financial incentives for student performance. However, a 10-county…

This fourth issue of Morrison Institute for Public Policy's "Forum 411" quarterly briefing series offers insights into Arizona's 600,000-plus adolescents from professionals who work with them every day and from teens themselves. Presented herein are the findings of a survey on what teens think about their lives and the major issues…

With increasing alarm at the number of high school dropouts across the United States, educators are seeking ways to help students stay in school, graduate, and move on to meaningful and productive careers. Recent research points out that a smooth transition to ninth grade can contribute to students' success in high school and beyond. This…

Numerous historical studies have been done regarding education in modern Japan from a great diversity of viewpoints. It is true that studies of educational systems and history of educational policies have made considerable progress. Still, there remains great room for improvement in terms of both quantity and quality for studies of everyday…

The Finnish Ministry of education commissioned a study in 2006-07 on reducing the number of drop-outs, "Get a vocation--keeping on top of studies". The aim of the study was to establish the good practices and operating models underpinning reduction in drop-outs. The study indicates that an educational institution that fosters commitment…

Student retention in higher education might be prioritised by funding authorities and universities but robust measurement of non-completion is elusive. This investigation explores untapped data sources to enrich understanding of non-completion. The analysis features the main undergraduate course in a part of a large UK university with retention…

Answers to questions most often asked about the second National Education Goal are provided in this document. Goal 2 states that "by the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to 90 percent." Among the areas covered are school strategies to improve graduation rates, community and business roles, incentives to stay in…

This annotated bibliography represents literature on the phenomenon of American Indian students dropping out of school. The bibliography describes 31 titles, including research reports, reports from state departments of public instruction, national reports, action reports, and "how to" books. Of the 31 entries, 18 report on Indian student dropout…

This report develops a topology of approaches to high school dropout prevention, and uses it to examine and review the effectiveness of existing programs, and to identify major gaps in current practice and research. Research on dropouts was reviewed to identify the kinds of students who drop out and their reasons for dropping out. Based on this…

Reviews dropout characteristics; identifies the components of an overall dropout prevention approach; and describes the role of legislation, school administration, and public-private collaboratives in developing dropout prevention strategies. Emphasizes the use of public and private resources to improve the opportunities of the disadvantaged. (FMW)

This report presents statistics from the second year (1990-91) of the District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS) implementation of procedures to identify and track student dropouts. Other school "leaver" data was also collected. The primary data presented in this report focuses on secondary school dropouts (grades 7-12). However,…

The 1983 North Carolina Dropout Study and the 1988 North Carolina Follow-Up Dropout Study were conducted to provide baseline dropout data for North Carolina public high schools, to provide estimates of dropout rates, and to explore possible factors contributing to a student's decision to leave high school. The results of the 1983 study indicated…

Many students who enter public schools leave without achieving what has become the expected minimum level of educational attainment, a high school diploma. The purpose of this study was to contribute to existing dropout-prevention research by identifying and validating reliable decision rules for differentiating actual dropouts from high school…

The PAISC program provides support to schools enabling them to successfully implement discipline and early intervention dropout prevention programs. Selected characteristics of 15 sites in which the PAISC program has been implemented are described. This report details the way in which staff divided its time between implementing the components that…