"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) Getting Down to Business: Obama Hosts Education Roundtable with Nation's Business Leaders; (2) "Diplomas Mean…

Many students during their college careers consider withdrawing from their respective college or university. Understanding why some students decide to withdraw yet others persist has implications for both the well being of students as well as for institutes of higher education. The present study develops a model of the decision to withdraw drawing…

The purpose of this paper is to examine a single study participant and overall graduation rates as they relate to both the general education and special education population. As more federal requirements are defined, especially the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, along with individual state requirements, the overall graduation rate of both of…

The focus of this Executive Position Paper (EPP) is to address the dropout rate at Sussex Central High School (SCHS) in the Indian River School District (IRSD). Studies conducted for this EPP align with current research--student dropout is a result of culminating school-based factors that include poor attendance and lack of exposure to rigorous…

The transition into high school is a traumatic event in an adolescent's life. Students face several emotional challenges during their high school years as they struggle to gain a sense of self, develop the tools needed to advocate for their own needs, and navigate the demands of a new school. A successful transition into high school has a…

Too many of our nation's youth have failed to complete high school. Determining why so many of our nation's students fail to graduate is a complex, multi-faceted problem and beyond the scope of any one study. The study presented herein utilized a thirteen-step mixed methods model developed by Leech and Onwuegbuzie (2007) to demonstrate within a…

Based on fieldwork at a weekend Japanese language school in the USA in 2007-2009, this article illustrates the ways in which different regimes of government arise from an activity depending on meanings individuals invest in it. We examine how two students in the same classroom experienced two different regimes of government: one of a low-track…

Evidence-based treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may be enhanced by Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP; Kohlenberg & Tsai, 1991; Tsai et al., 2009). As PTSD can include a variety of problems with interpersonal relationships (e.g., trust of others), manualized treatments may not afford clinicians enough time and flexibility to…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate premature dropping out of university study at Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus in southern Thailand. 21 Muslim and non-Muslim males and females and four senior staff were interviewed. The findings are discussed in terms of practical implications and also reflecting on…

Many students drop out in the first year after a school transition. Most commonly used indicators of an increased risk for dropout reveal little of the mechanisms that push or pull students out of school. In this study, we look at the association of a set of common risk indicators with students' supportive resources and school experiences upon the…

Many school district leaders, high school administrators, and teachers--particularly those in urban areas--have struggled to reduce high school dropout rates but find themselves overwhelmed by the dimensions of the problem. Consider: Research has shown that lack of preparation in elementary and middle school, long before students reach high…

State public policy has been an important tool for improving the educational preparation and opportunity for many communities. However, without concerted statewide efforts it will continue to be difficult to substantially expand opportunities to accelerate higher education attainment and workforce preparation. Over the next 15 years, the states…

In the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District has achieved a startling success over the last two years: it has recovered and graduated over 600 dropouts and put them on a clear pathway to college. Just a few years ago, low graduation rates, struggling high schools, and poor staff and student morale…

With an annual dropout rate of roughly 1.2 million students, far too many children and youth are being left behind in schools. As a consequence of the large dropout rate, it is estimated that the United States loses almost $320 billion in potential earnings each year. It is apparent that educational reform is needed in order to identify at-risk…

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation this month promoting the growth of virtual schools. The new law requires the state to develop policies for approving and monitoring a wide array of private and nonprofit online education providers. The legislative action in Virginia is the most recent major policy move by a state to expand the…