The Community Achievement Project in the Schools (CAPS) is a public-private partnership between the United Way of New York City and the New York City Board of Education. As part of a dropout prevention initiative, CAPS is designed to integrate the services of community-based organizations and schools. The Teachers College of Columbia University…

A follow-up survey was conducted in St. Cloud, Minnesota, of 127 (from a total of 357 students) former special education students who left school between 1988 and 1992. Respondents, most of whom completed the survey by phone, were predominantly male (69 percent), and most (63 percent) had been classified as learning disabled, with 29 percent…

This brief, based on a presentation by New York City Board of Education member Dr. Luis Reyes, describes the work and findings of the Latino Commission on Educational Reform, a special commission of the Board. In an effort to gather information for 1990-91 on Latino students in New York City schools, the Commission found that: Latino students…

This study, part of the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students, compares the postschool experiences of a group of almost 2,000 youth (those who were already out of secondary school in 1987) when they had been out of school less than 2 years with their accomplishments 3 years later. Chapters in the report have the…

Although a recent Mexican survey found that schooling was the public institution that inspired the most confidence, Mexican government figures for the past decade reveal high dropout rates, particularly at the primary level. This book casts light on this paradox by detailing various social relationships of schooling in two elementary schools in a…

Each year, many teachers face the problem of where to place children who do not fit into the rest of the class. Retention is an option that is frequently considered for these children. Children considered for retention often have poor academic skills, are small in stature or the youngest in the grade, have moved or been absent frequently, do…

This paper addresses issues in assessment of college students, outcome studies, and attrition research in the context of trends toward requiring greater accountability from institutions of higher education. First the paper considers how assessment, student outcomes studies, and attrition research terminology might be more clearly defined. It…

Graduation rates are often used indicators of the performance of institutions of higher education. How institutions are represented can be profoundly affected by different approaches used to develop the data for the rates. The impact of variations in how these rates are constructed is illustrated by the example of the City University of New York…

The New York State Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) provides students at risk of dropping out of school with services specifically designed to keep them in school through high school graduation, to encourage them to pursue higher education, and/or to secure meaningful employment. Section 1 describes the LPP school year program, giving brief…

This paper reviews 1993 trends and issues in urban education in five sections. Following an introduction, the first section describes the economic conditions of today's diverse urban public school students and the way that poverty differentially affects various ethnic and racial student groups. A second section analyzes key educational policies…

This report tracks the school-completion progress of New York City students who entered ninth grade in fall 1990 and were scheduled to graduate on time in June 1994. The report indicates the percentages of students (including those in special education) who graduated, dropped out, and remained in school for summer school or a fifth year in fall…

School divisions were surveyed in the fall of 1992 as part of the Virginia State Board of Education's effort to establish criteria for the identification of educationally at-risk students, under the mandate of the State's General Assembly. All division superintendents were asked to review the Board's initial draft criteria for identification and…

The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program is designed for grades 6 through 12, prepares students most underrepresented in secondary education for four-year college, and restructures the teaching methodology of an entire school to make college preparatory curricula accessible to almost all students. To achieve this goal, school…

Despite a growing trend toward retention in grade of low-achieving students and apparent public support for the practice, many educators and psychologists disagree with the perception that flunking is an appropriate response to poor academic performance. Research reported in the past two decades indicates that grade-level retention produces little…

This study investigated the employment status and earnings of students in the 58 institutions in the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) during the years 1993-94, 1994-95, and 1995-96. Data were derived from a state system that uses unemployment insurance files to track employment of students, the NCCCS registration files, and a…