Led by Chicago Public Schools, many districts have adopted strict retention and promotion policies, often abandoning social-promotion programs that pushed students ahead with their peers regardless of achievement. Research shows that grade repetition is a strong predictor for dropping out. Summer, weekend, and transitional programs are partly…

Many young people in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development leave school unprepared for employment; this constitutes a failure of the school system. Identifies indicators of failure, policies for addressing failure, and three main policy challenges: development of a comparative knowledge base, removal of…

Discusses the intertwined emotional and intellectual needs of early adolescents, characteristics of developmentally responsive middle schools, family and school factors that increase the likelihood of dropping out, problems of delinquency and school discipline, protective factors related to student resilience, and school and community…

Predictors of school dropout and their stability over time were studied in 791 white French-speaking Canadian students aged 12 to 16 years in 1974 and 791 similar students in 1985 through self-administered questionnaires. School, family, behavioral, social, and personality variables predicted dropping out in both samples, and these predictors were…

Discusses the impact of accountability on educational quality at the state level, exploring various Texas student performance measures over the past decade that show improvements in school performance for minority and impoverished children. Discusses data from Texas Assessment of Academic Skills scores, National Assessment of Educational Progress…

This article evaluates several possible legal standards designed to ensure that students with disabilities benefit from an appropriate education. Specifically, schools may need to consider student dropout as a change in placement, afford these students various due process procedures, and regard dropout prevention as a related service. (DB)

Ethnographic research was carried out in 1997-98 to identify factors that determined school attendance among Nepali women in the Kathmandu Valley a generation ago. Findings indicate that gender, caste, poverty, cultural prejudice, and rural residence prevented a majority from going to school. Of those who went, most, regardless of academic talent,…

One of the most noticeable changes to the university student profile over the last decade is the increasing number of mature-age students. This study examined the relationship between previous academic performance, psychological characteristics of the student, learning strategies, and the first year academic performance of school leavers and…

The search for high school reform leads to William T. McFatter Technical High School in Broward County Public Schools, Florida. The purpose of this article is to highlight key information about the school and to demonstrate the success of its rigorous academic and technical instruction with state-of-the-art technology. By sharing this…

This investigation provides a model for at-risk youth community agencies to tailor their programs to fit the specific needs of their local out-of-school youth. Using a needs-based assessment, baseline data were gathered on Cleveland African Americans (N = 187) to pinpoint academic strengths and deficits, career interests, and life-skill needs. The…

Objective: The purpose of this research was to examine the secondary and tertiary prevention of child abuse and neglect through an evaluation of the Parent Aide Program at the Child Abuse Prevention Center in Dallas, Texas. Method: Using a quasi-experimental, retrospective research design, this project compared abuse recidivism rates for those…

In this article, the author discusses five common strategies for making online high school programs effective in one's school district. These are: (1) Prepare students for success; (2) Prepare teachers for success; (3) Use interactive, flexible course designs; (4) Monitor and support teachers; and (5) Monitor and support students. Despite their…

The authors developed and evaluated an online foster parent training system designed specifically for low-bandwidth Internet connections and individuals with limited Internet/computer experience. After preliminary onsite evaluations, a 2-week field test was conducted to evaluate the following dimensions: foster parents' pre- to post-test scores on…

This article explores some of the ill-defined provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act and its compelling arguments. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 was born in controversy, and the passage of time has not lessened the controversy surrounding it. Initially, this act appeared to be legislation which would have little or no impact on…

This paper reports the results of a telephone survey of 151 undergraduates who withdrew in their first year of study at a post-1992 institution. It focuses on the negative experiences which they reported during their time at the university and the ultimate reasons for leaving, exploring in particular issues around choice of course, academic…