Despite demonstrated success of a graduation competency testing policy in Tatnall County (Georgia), a judge ruled that the policy violated due process because the school district could not show that the items on the test were actually taught in the schools. (WD)

Examines the possibility of legal challenges to minimum competency tests on the grounds that they violate freedom of expression (including the right to remain silent), privacy, and substantive due process guarantees. Available from the Catholic University Law Review, Catholic University of America School of Law, Room 1 Washington, D.C. 20064; sc…

College diplomas are seen as not necessarily representing academic achievement, but the fact that a student has sat through enough courses to accumulate sufficient credits for graduation. A case is made for 10 measures of achievement to serve as a basis for graduation. (Article originally published in 1937.) (AF)

This paper attempts to assess the validity of employers' complaints about the mathematical shortcomings of school leavers and discusses implications of the findings. (MK)

Within the next decade it will be the rare school system which does not provide flexible graduation programs for all students. Describes initial attempts to develop early graduation and current research on opinions about its effectiveness as well as school policy on its practice. (Author/RK)

Comparison of state graduation requirements found significant differences in the exit documents awarded to students with disabilities, with similar requirements sometimes earning different types of exit documents in different states. It was also found that 44 states use Carnegie course unit requirements and 17 states have minimum competency…

Examined African American male students' transition to high school, comparing gender differences in achievement from 8th-12th grades by using data from a longitudinal study in Chicago. In 8th grade, there were few gender differences in achievement or teachers' ratings of students' behaviors and skills. However, males had more significant declines…

Compares segmentation modeling and logistic regression with regard to a longitudinal study of graduation rates at Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute. Suggests that segmentation modeling is as effective as the regression techniques in terms of predictive ability, but that segmentation modeling offers a distinct advantage in…

Tracked five cohorts of first-year students for 6 years to determine how many, by gender and race, were academically suspended, how many of those returned, and of those who returned, how many graduated. Found that a greater percentage of males than females and Black than White students were academically suspended. Minority males were the most…

Provides data on the availability of and enrollment in public alternative schools and programs for at-risk students, entrance and exit criteria, staffing, curriculum services, and collaboration. Findings are based on a questionnaire completed by representatives of 1,534 public school districts. Part of the Fast Response Survey System. (SLD)

Studied prediction of college freshman performance and graduation in U.S. colleges by examining aggregated data at the institutional level for 1,429 4-year institutions. Results suggest that persistence to graduation as a characteristic of student populations at a college can be predicted better than persistence at the individual level at a given…

Dayton (Ohio) Public Schools have two new programs for potential dropouts, called University Prep Program and New Options for Work, that take the students out of classes with younger students and treat them as the young adults they are. (MLF)

Discusses the difficulty in providing general music education for all high school students. Examines teacher resistance to such courses and negative student attitudes towards any required course. Argues that such education is valuable in that its purpose is to refine the aural perceptions and musical curiosity of all students. (GEA)

Discusses ways in which instrumental music teachers can benefit from teaching nonperformance classes and the reasons why these teachers are a natural choice for the job. Examines specific competencies of instrumental music teachers, suggesting ways they can be put to work in nonperformance classes. (GEA)

Examines the effects of family type on high school graduation using data from the 1979-85 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Results show that (1) not living with both parents at age 14 has negative consequences for children's high school graduation, and (2) disruptions (changes in family structure) between ages 14 and 17 also…