Texas's education commissioner initiated a research study to investigate the possibility of replacing the dropout rate with a school-completion rate in the accountability system. The report provides an overview of school success indicators, along with an analysis of Texas data using a school-completion methodology. Following a review of school…

This guide suggests that truancy is not just a school problem but a community problem, and the whole community needs to come together to devise solutions. This monthly action kit provides tools to help communities combat truancy. It contains: (1) important facts about truancy; (2) some ideas on how to assess the local problem; (3) actions that can…

More than half of runaway adolescents cite poor family communication and conflict as the primary reasons for running. Runaways (.5-1.5 million annually) generally arrive on the streets with few survival skills and little money. They are often subject to abuse of various sorts, and many eventually resort to criminal activity or use drugs in efforts…

Chicago American Indian students are not experiencing an effective education in the public school system. Over the centuries, educating American Indians has been ineffectively handled by missionaries, federal institutions, and public schools. American Indian students are educated in public schools, Catholic schools, or in special programs such as…

This study of the "flow-through" of students through Cleveland (Ohio) Public School buildings between 1985 and 1989 followed four cohorts of students as they progressed through primary, upper elementary, intermediate, and high school buildings. At each level, the characteristics of "stable" students, who remained in the same…

The Integrated Occupational Program (IOP) is a new program of studies that is being developed and implemented by Alberta Education (Canada) to meet the needs of students who are identified as being at risk and unable to cope with the regular program. A major feature of the program is its emphasis on first developing students' self-esteem and then,…

Of 596 service delivery areas (SDAs) administering the Job Training Partnership Act, 583 participated in a telephone survey regarding private industry council (PIC) and SDA activities. It was found that the number of local jurisdictions responsible for administering federally funded employment and training programs increased by 26 percent.…

Three off campus private alternative schools have been supported, in part, by the Portland, Oregon, Public Schools. The students, mostly high school age, are largely dropouts or on the verge of dropping out of school. Many were referred because of behavior, attendance, or other discipline problems. At least half of the students in each school have…

A study was conducted at Saddleback College to evaluate the retention, achievement, and satisfaction of students enrolled in the college's telecourse program. The study sample included all telecourse and on-campus students enrolled in courses in American government, human behavior, music, and marine biology in spring 1983. Study methods, which…

An extension program sponsored by the Venezuelan government attempted to change a rural area's shifting cultivation system into one that produced cash crops. The program's failure was due in part to the lack of understanding on the part of the extension agents regarding the communities' traditional resource use systems. (LH)

This article describes several projects currently underway in Minneapolis to overcome the problems of poor population density, no downtown after-dark activity, lack of a mass transit system, pollution, congestion and a cold climate. Solutions include parkways, enclosed public space, the new-town-in-town concept, greenways, and restoration. (BT)

Multiple linear discriminant function analyses were performed using academic, performance, and personality variables to discriminate among groups of transfers, persisters, and dropouts two years after college matriculation. Analysis of all variables combined added no predictive power beyond that by either subset alone. The results held up on…

The Volusia County (Florida) Single Parents Program was developed to identify single parents who are potential dropouts because of a lack of financial support for day care and to provide them with approved day care services. The program also features (1) cooperation between teachers and school guidance counselors to identify and counsel pregnant…

This document comprises the proceedings of a conference that brought together administrators, researchers, and faculty from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to address the growing problem of retaining black students. Activities were structured into 5 general sessions, 16 concurrent sessions, and 2 special sessions. Principal…