Modules, Audio-Tutorials, and Contracts are the three components of an integrated system of instruction which has transformed a traditional junior college into a community-based, performance-oriented people's college. This method individualizes instruction, reduces attrition, and virtually eliminates "D" and "F" grades. (DC)

This report presents and analyzes statistical data on the status and condition of American youth, ages 16-24. A brief commentary on the problems of collecting data concerning Hispanic youth precedes the report's seven main sections, which deal with the following topics: population; marriage; childbearing and living arrangements; family income and…

There is a paucity of information on college outcomes of Native Americans, matriculation and retention rates, factors that contribute to institutional holding power, and barriers to Native American achievement. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of 79 two- and four-year colleges and universities that serve the largest…

For most of this century, Florida's economy has been one of the "boom or bust" variety; however, since the 1960s, the economy has diversified, bringing in a variety of "high tech" manufacturing and high-end service businesses to the state. Still, wages in agriculture and tourism are so low that the state suffers in terms of per…

This report evaluates the success of the Home-School-Community Agent (HSCA) project which was implemented for the 1988-89 school year in 8 high schools and 11 middle schools in Ohio. The primary purpose of the project was to help disruptive pupils make a positive adjustment to elements that interfere with their success in school. One objective of…

A longitudinal study examined how long it took 23,044 limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in grades K-12 in New York City to lose their legally-mandated entitlement to bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes. Findings show that although most students in the population of new-entrant LEP students will lose their entitlement…

This paper discusses issues pertaining to at-risk students at the primary level, suggesting what can be done to keep pupils in formal schooling with an optimal achievement level. Topics discussed include: (1) probable at-risk primary pupils; (2) the domestic and societal causes of high risk in primary pupils; (3) approaches to guiding pupil…

This essay, written from the point of view of a social researcher with a direct personal involvement in the cases studied, discusses how public schools, as universally accessible moral communities, engage in patterns of systematic exclusion. Through three case studies of public secondary schools in which groups of students have been situated…

This document reports on the Migrant Education Secondary Assistance Project's third and final outreach meeting, conducted in conjunction with the National Migrant Education Conference attended by migrant educators from across the nation. These educators have identified effective preventative strategies such as the elimination of grade retention,…

This is the second annual report to Congress required by the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-297). It presents data on high school dropout and retention rates for 1989 and time series data since 1968. It also examines high school completion and graduation rates. Two kinds of dropout rates…

Michael Marquet of New Zealand left school 10 years ago, not able to read or write and with a serious speech problem. He had spent 9 years in a special class and had learned very little. He had completed 2 years of high school and left at the end of the fourth form, at the age of 15 and with no qualifications. However, he had participated in a…

A study examined the role higher education institutions play through their educational strategy in supporting student retention. Educational strategy was defined as patterns of institutional practices designed to support undergraduate education, and the question posed was: Do the practices a college implements at the institutional level to support…

This paper offers four recommendations for alternative school educators and others who work with at-risk students: (1) The real "experts" are those who work directly with at-risk youth in classrooms. (2) Schools should not provide students with choices while forsaking their obligation to teach them how to actively participate in the culture. If…

The members of this task force adopted a broad approach to readiness so that issues relating to at-risk children and youth between the preschool years and graduation might be addressed. Two papers are presented: (1) "Readiness for the New Educational Standards" (Jean G. McDonald); and (2) "State Policy for At-Risk Children:…

In 1984 the Edgewood and South San Antonio Independent School Districts implemented the Valued Youth Partnership Program (VYP). VYP identifies Hispanic junior high and high school students at high risk of dropping out and gives them an opportunity to serve as tutors of younger children. As they tutor, the older students also learn basic skills,…