This issue brief outlines the immediate need for more accurate dropout and graduation data, while providing a snapshot of work currently underway. By drawing on two prominent methods for calculating graduation rates: the National Governors Association's endorsed longitudinal approach and the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), this brief…

This study empirically explores the comparability of traditional survey-based retention research methodology with an alternative approach that relies on data commonly available in institutional student databases. Drawing on Tinto's [Tinto, V. (1993). "Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition" (2nd Ed.), The University…

We use data from the 1990/1994 Beginning Post-Secondary Survey to determine whether the factors associated with long-term attrition from higher education differ for students who initially enrolled part-time as compared to for students who initially enrolled full-time. Using a two-stage sequential decision model to analyze the initial enrollment…

Several studies have been conducted related to dropouts from on-campus and distance education courses. However, no clear definition of dropout from academic courses was provided. Consequently, this study proposes a clear and precise definition of dropout from academic courses in the context of e-learning courses. Additionally, it is documented in…

Students who are truant from school face many penalties in today's society. For instance, truants are at risk for substance abuse, lower academic achievement, and in particular for school dropout. The perceptions of individuals working with truant students may indeed impact the obstacles truant students face. The purpose of this study was to…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Informing Adolescent Literacy Policy and Practice": Alliance Brief Offers Lessons Learned from Federal…

Across the nation, school policymakers are grappling with what to do about the increasing numbers of students who do not advance beyond ninth grade. National estimates put the student attrition rate before tenth grade at between 11 and 33 percent, and only about 70 percent of ninth graders make it to graduation. This policy brief focuses on one…

This paper presents new empirical evidence on whether failing the high school exit exam increases the chance of exiting from high school "prior to high school completion". More importantly, the author discusses the potentially different impacts of failing the High School Exit Exams (HSEE) on students with limited English proficiency,…

Student retention in online education is a concern for students, faculty and administration. Retention rates are 20% lower in online courses than in traditional face-to-face courses. As part of an integration and engagement strategy, a face-to-face orientation was added to an online undergraduate business information systems course to examine its…

Without question, schools must be accountable for students' performance. But schools can not meet students' needs alone. Young people need more connections, more support, more opportunities, and more learning time to be successful. When supports and services are not available, often it is the teachers who step in to fill the void. They do this…

This paper presents an analysis of the reasons why students in Norway leave higher education institutions before degree completion and the extent to which these reasons are of the type that can be influenced by the university. As occurs in many countries, a proportion of students starting an undergraduate liberal arts degree in Norway leave their…

Studies of students enrolled in computer-based instruction have yielded mixed results, with some reporting a high dropout rate. Tis article describes a quantitative study examining the probability of students' withdrawal from a computer- versus lecture-based developmental math course based on learning style, reasons for selecting the instructional…

This retrospective, longitudinal study compares the career paths of graduates of Harvard University's master's-level teacher education program (TEP) before and after it adopted an urban emphasis in 2001. I surveyed all graduates of TEP, 1985-2006, which yielded a sample of 636. Using discrete-time survival analysis, I examined where respondents…

Universities are not immune to the effects of the slumping economy, yet many of them are reporting their highest application and enrollment rates ever, as hard times compel people to look for new ways to increase their skills. Students' efforts to improve their job prospects, along with colleges' marketing efforts, have, indeed, translated to…

For the last 25 years, American education has been trying to reform itself. This effort has been noble but only partially successful, and too often defined by an "either-or" dichotomy that has led to publicly defined "wars" over reading and math instruction, and even the very existence of the U.S. Department of Education. All…