The Astin study of dropouts is a national survey covering a large population; it is a longitudinal study and is related to action programs. This paper highlights some of the major aspects of the study, draws implications that have special significance to the black colleges, and suggests areas for further research that would appear to be of…

Research studies for use in planning, administering, and improving the in-school, summer, and out-of-school programs of the Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC) were reviewed. Findings were analyzed from those studies that surveyed individual NYC projects or specific elements and those that attempted to develop and test ways to solve problems. Some…

The Texarkana Dropout Prevention Program is an educational innovation in which (1) a private company was placed under contract to set up special, remedial instruction in the public schools, and (2) the company was to be paid according to the results produced under a performance contract. Dorsett Educational Systems operated six rapid learning…

This document consists of vocational education teaching aids that originated in a special needs summer workshop at Arizona State Industrial School; the units are aimed at the potential dropout/special needs type of student (rather than the handicapped) who because of cultural, psychological, or aptitudinal reasons is not able to operate on a…

Project Outreach, funded under Title VIII of Public Law 90 - 247, is designed to introduce basic and widespread changes in Sheridan School District organization, curriculum offerings, pupil services, and teacher training. By concentrating on meeting the total needs of all students, most specifically alienated youth who are potential dropouts and…

The validity of Tinto's (1975) theory of student attrition, which asserts that withdrawal relates most directly to students' integration in the social and academic systems of an institution, is examined. This study supports that theory and also suggests that informal interaction with faculty plays an important role as well. (Editor/LBH)

A 24-city program called "Career Beginnings" designed to encourage students who might be on the verge of dropping out to finish high school and attend college is described. The program brings together colleges, high schools, and businesses in an effort to improve the prospects of disadvantaged high-school students. (MLW)

Emphasis on basis skills, standardized testing and curriculum standardization in alternative education programs creates the same conditions that originally lead students to drop out. Flexibility of alternative education programs is important. These nontraditional programs should exist as part of the many options that can meet the needs of…

Cites the high dropout rates for native students in Saskatchewan urban centers and suggests that the inner-city native alternative school may be the best way to return students to some form of education leading to eventual employment. Lists 17 "do's" and "don'ts" for effective alternative schools. (JHZ)

The executive committee of a combined sixth-year Baccalaureate-M.S. degree program instituted the administration of exit interviews to gain systematic information about why students leave the program prematurely. The committee hoped to assess the school's admissions procedures, its educational policies, and its student support services. (MLW)

Study showed that levels of repetition and dropping out in the primary schools of 121 countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and the USSR from 1970 to 1980 remain very high. This educational wastage is costing a great deal of money. (RM)

Investigated whether dropouts and other students having difficulty with physics could be identified by including mathematics reasoning items along with mathematics skill items on a 13-item mathematics pretest and by using records of past performance in conjunction with the pretest. Sample included 483 students in an introductory, noncalculus,…

Institutions need to identify new ways to facilitate the return and adaption of students to higher education and its environment. The purpose of this article is to propose the Student Reentry Center as a timely and feasible plan to assist and encourage students in their reenrollment for academic study. (Author/NG)

This report presents the characteristics of students who failed in their first four-year college attempt, then transferred into community colleges, and subsequently moved on to a four-year college and succeeded. While the numbers who moved on through each stage dropped, they were large enough to identify recovery as a valuable community college…

"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) FY 2005 Budget Released: President Opens Door to High School Initiatives, but Disappoints School Districts by…