Perspective Discrepancy Assessments completed by a dean, 50 mentors, and 60 current and 35 former adult students, as well as interviews with 26 dropouts, found that the dean and mentors ranked remedial work, outside commitments, and financial aid as obstacles. However, dropouts cited mentors' lack of counseling experience, understanding of…

Examines dropout rates, standardized test scores, commission reports, university enrollments, per pupil expenditures, special education costs, employment trends, and other indicators to show that U.S. education is not in the sorry condition its critics claim. Rereading "A Nation at Risk" (1983) discloses a xenophobic screed having little…

Examined individual behavioral characteristics and family patterns of 102 middle-class dropout youths. Found that adolescents had variety of disorders, most notably substance abuse disorders, conduct disorders, and adjustment disorders. Many had been victimized through physical abuse, sexual abuse, and chronic family dysfunction. Parental…

Discusses results of a study that identified promising practices in both dropout prevention and transition programs for youth at risk in 67 Florida school districts. Practices related to timing (grade range), curriculum, setting, and partnerships are reviewed. (SLD)

Argues that assessment, outcomes measurement, and prediction of attrition are separate but highly interrelated phenomena, with none meaningfully understood without reference to the other two. Suggests that the assessment process be the initial exercise, followed by periodic outcomes measurement used in conjunction with the assessment data to…

Interviews with 44 dropout youth with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, or mild mental retardation found that educators and administrators need to change their attitudes toward and treatment of these youth, that the youth themselves need to change their attitudes and behavior, and that there needs to be more support from teachers and…

Data from 805 California high schools are used to examine teacher education and experience in relation to student dropout rates. Dropout rates tend to be higher where faculties include a greater percentage of minimally educated teachers or teachers with little experience. These relationships are independent of school size, student poverty, and…

Argues that the role of education should be to shape the whole individual. The culture and organization of schools must change to promote student success and democratic values. The school has failed to be a level playing field for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, and must become an instrument for justice and liberation for the…

Evaluates results from the first phase of a UNICEF-Ministry of Education (Iran) Girls' Education Project aimed at reducing gender disparity in formal education at the primary level. Reports findings about why some girls remain out of primary school or fail to complete it. Describes the next two project phases. (DSK)

A logit model was developed, using historical data, to identify characteristics inherent in a college student's decision to withdraw from college. Once the model was derived, predicted probabilities of retention for an incoming freshman class were computed, and a program for monitoring high-risk students' progress was developed. (Author/MSE)

Looks at similarities between black student athletes at predominantly white colleges and oscillating migrant laborers. Shows how the rotation between socially and culturally different communities leads to negative experiences. This rotation may contribute to low graduation rates and high student attrition for black students. (SLD)

Mentoring students via programs such as HOSTS (Helping One Student to Succeed) helps kids avoid or tackle problems associated with substance abuse, pregnancy, gangs, and academic and social failure. A Dupont-sponsored program in Wilmington, Delaware, has helped students improve relationships with peers and adults. (MLH)

Presents the results of a 1995 survey on the conditions of primary schools in 14 least-developed countries. Indicators include drop-out rates, class size, level of education of the teaching staff, student/teacher ratio, standard of classroom equipment, and quality of school buildings, among others. Overall findings are that conditions in many of…

This study examined predictability of inappropriate behavior in a random sample of 452 adolescents. Behaviors examined included dropping out, teen pregnancy, criminal activities and conviction, antisocial personality disorder, and alcohol abuse. Found that academic achievement and aspirations, and learning-focused school settings related to…

Uses a stage-environment fit paradigm to provide evidence of a mismatch between early adolescents' developmental needs and aspects of the junior high school classroom environment. Discusses psychosocial problems possibly caused by this lack of synchronicity. Describes the consequences of differential treatment of adolescent females. Six patterns…