Hundreds of prospective students engage the Owens Community College (OCC) three-step admission process each semester before voluntarily disengaging the institution. A study was conducted to assess student motivation to engage or disengage OCC based on factors related to student disposition, institutional motivation, and student situation, and to…

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…

Reasons that students enter or leave the University of Montana (UM) were studied in fall 1983. Consideration was given to first-term freshmen of traditional age, slightly older students (under age 25), transfer students, dropouts, and students who persisted at the university for 1 academic year. In study phase 1, attention was directed to…

In spring 1983, a study was conducted at Cerritos College to gain a better understanding of students who dropped all of their classes. The study involved exit surveys administered as part of the official drop process, exit surveys used during the graduation check process, and an analysis of institutional data on the personal and academic…

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…

Reasons accounting for attrition of University of North Dakota (UND) students were investigated. UND students who were enrolled during fall 1976-1977 through fall 1979-1980 as new freshmen and who terminated their studies without earning a degree between spring 1978-1979 to fall 1979-1980 were surveyed. The 237 respondents represented a response…

A study (based on data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience) was conducted to determine the causes and consequences for women of leaving high school before completion. Four factors (race, school leaving, motherhood, and employment status) were explored by comparing data obtained annually between 1968 and 1973 for 5,000…

As the fifth in a series of follow-up studies conducted every five years by the East Side Union High School District, this report is of interest to educators concerned about the educational problems and progress of Mexican American and black minority groups. The study reflects a twenty year pattern of analysis of the status of Mexican American…

A causal model to explain student attrition was tested at a major midwestern land-grant university with a sample of 1,513 full-time, unmarried freshmen who were 21 years old or younger. The causal model was reduced from 23 to 10 variables: an intent variable, three attitudinal variables, and two each of organizational, personal, and environmental…

As part of a multiphase study on male and female student attitudes towards Air Force technical training and the relationship between those attitudes and student performance, the 121-item Technical Training Student Survey (TTSS) was administered to 12,666 technical training students. The attitudes of students from high attrition courses were…

A questionnaire for students discontinuing their foreign language study is presented along with suggestions for its administration and use as a diagnostic tool for administrators. The brief form covers such factors as--(1) reasons for dropping the language, (2) availability of advanced courses, (3) notions of fluency, (4) student objectives, (5)…

The study determined the causes for the high dropout rate of Chicano students in Nampa School District 131. In the spring of 1976, a questionnaire was designed and administered to 17 male and 23 female Mexican Americans who had dropped out within the last 5 years (1971-76) and who resided within the school district's boundaries. The questionnaire…

This study determined which of three types of educational barriers (institutional, situational, or dispositional) represented the major problem preventing adult students from completing their general educational development (GED) studies at Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) in Pennsylvania. A Likert-type survey instrument was used to collect…

This report examines how successful America's high schools have been in raising high school graduation rates over the past decade and how severe the high school dropout problem actually is. It reviews existing empirical evidence on the school dropout problems of America's youth during the 1990s. It also presents evidence to support the view that…

This paper presents and discusses data based on the perceptions of 128 persistent school absentees on their initial and continued reasons for missing school. The findings suggest that a greater proportion of the students were inclined to blame their institutions, rather than social or psychological factors, for their behavior. (SSH)