Research generally points to a negative relationship between school or district size and student achievement. When all else is held equal (particularly community or individual socioeconomic status), comparisons of schools and districts based on differences in enrollment generally favor smaller units. A recent study found that small elementary…

A study was conducted to determine the role of technology teacher education programs in preparing new and experienced teachers for teaching and managing programs for students at risk of dropping out of school. The first part of the study focused on the methods of data collection and preliminary findings. Data were gathered through a…

A program was developed to reduce the rising dropout rate of 9th- and 10th-grade students at Lewisville High School, a small rural school in Chester County, South Carolina. In the face of limited financial resources, the program manager coordinated existing services and networked with community agencies. School records, surveys, and questionnaires…

Arizona's Serve-America Project is a K-12 community service program funded by the National and Community Service Act of 1990. Through formal school/community agency and youth organization/community agency partnerships, the project is designed to: (1) encourage school-age and out-of-school youth to volunteer their services; (2) increase the number…

This paper uses the analogies of the Iliad and the Odyssey to examine different types of college student withdrawal behavior in the context of a study an integrated model of student retention at Angelo State University (ASU) in Texas. The study selected 824 first time freshmen of whom 343 responded to the mailed ASU Freshman Experiences survey.…

Based in rural northern Orange County (North Carolina), the Adolescents-in-Need Project began in 1981 as a joint effort of the school district, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and community agencies. Project goals focused on preventing untimely events in the lives of teenagers, and included helping adolescents…

A number of studies have examined variables that discriminate individuals who drop out of mental health programs. However, relatively little attention has been focused on determining characteristics of individuals who fail to follow through after their initial contact with mental health services. This study was designed to provide a profile of…

This paper describes a minority leadership program, developed at Portland State University, Oregon, that is designed to increase the retention rate of minority and other underrepresented college students by helping them to adjust to the social and academic climate of the university. The program utilizes minority students who have successfully…

This paper presents the results of a study of a low-cost dropout prevention program in a rural, small city school district (approximately 3,500 students) that used school incentive teams and multicultural training to increase success for students at risk of dropping out of school. Selected teachers in the eight schools in the district were…

The collection of dropout statistics is discussed from the perspective of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). The NELS:88 follows a cohort of 1988 eighth graders over time and is designed to provide trend data about transitions experienced as students progress through the educational system. Dropout statistics are provided…

This procedures manual is intended to provide guidance to Maine school officials for developing strategies and policies to assure regular attendance of students in school. Part 1 examines factors affecting school attendance, noting that the school and home may serve as enablers for the student who becomes unaccountable for attendance. These…

This paper reviews the extent to which students with disabilities attending regular secondary schools were involved in vocational education, and whether students who participated in vocational education exhibited better outcomes both in school and in the first years after high school. Data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special…

The underlying themes in a successful dropout-prevention program are that it is teacher-led and student-centered. In this, the third National Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) report, project leaders offer guidelines for developing a successful prevention initiative. Suggestions are made on the following objectives: (1) empower…

This paper reports the preliminary results of an experiment on the impact of computer assisted instruction (CAI) on disadvantaged students participating in the U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps Program. In 1980-81, data were collected from participants in the Job Corps Comprehensive Computer Program at a large center in the Southwest. The…

A retention plan was developed to quantify and qualify the attrition problem and to establish action plans to improve retention for a regional university serving many nontraditional students. Cameron University, a state institution in Oklahoma, provides both associate and bachelor degree programs. The attrition problems were difficult to identify…