To serve at-risk minority students better, secondary schools should exchange the usual six-period daily schedule for an intensive, single-subject format (similar to summer school) during the typical 36-week calendar. One immediate advantage of using intensive three-week sessions for each subject is increasing time spent on academics. (six…

Appalled by the 47 percent Hispanic dropout rate at South Houston (Texas) High School, one teacher heeds these students' silent bid for attention. Teachers can help Hispanic students participate fully by believing in them, challenging them academically, respecting their names, encouraging them to reach out, appreciating family ties, and boosting…

Because families and communities often fail to meet adolescents' need to belong to a productive, functional organization, schools are increasingly fulfilling this role. Membership depends on social bonding, which has four elements: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Principals can remove impediments to membership by fostering a sense…

Completion and performance data were examined from 92 junior high gifted students in a summer mathematics enrichment program. Variables significantly distinguishing between drop-outs and completers were instructor's rating of the student, parental occupation, and school year (seventh or eighth grade). Gender, ethnic group, school grade average,…

Describes Sandia National Laboratories' wide-ranging analysis of local, state, and national education systems. On most measures (dropout and retention rates, standardized test scores, higher education enrollment, education spending, international comparisons, educator status, and work-force skills), lab found steady or slight improvement. Schools…

A proposed intervention model for at-risk students with limited English proficiency and disabilities combines the characteristics of successful dropout prevention programs and the best practices of vocational special education and bilingual vocational training. The model includes elements of access, retention, and transition. (SK)

Reviews and critically examines research on academic programs for improving retention of at-risk minority college students. Recommends academic retention program designers incorporate effective instructional components and program evaluators implement better controlled research studies. (Author/ABL)

Describes a study that examined student attributes and achievements in previous Open University courses to determine what effect they had on the drop-out rate and achievement in a project work course. The use of partial order structuple (scalogram) analysis (POSA) is explained, and the results for occupation and previous course performance are…

The debate over how to educate gifted children reflects a larger conflict in American education: equity versus excellence. Many teachers see gifted programs as a challenge to their competence; others consider cooperative learning as a threat to the education of gifted students. (IAH)

Shortly after Amityville (New York) High School teachers introduced the learning style concept, their classes began to experiment with alternative groupings, varied instructional strategies, and individualized response activities. Student achievement gains were easily estimated, but gains in self-esteem are immeasurable. (MLH)

Describes the experiences of a young man from El Salvador and his eighth-grade second-language teacher as they watched other young El Salvadorans either drop out of school or accumulate insufficient credits to graduate. (RS)

Describes Critical Dialogues, an instructional approach based on the background knowledge and experiences of at-risk middle school students. Critical Dialogues can be used to help teach students the interactive processes vital to learning. Students grasp the importance of using their own knowledge to interpret situations, make decisions, and solve…

Among 31 completers of a workplace literacy program and 37 dropouts, those who belonged to in-class cliques were more likely to remain in class than the more socially isolated. Dropouts networked in the workplace with others of similar educational levels; finishers networked with workers of higher educational levels. (SK)

Discusses the practice of retaining children in grade, and presents evidence against the procedure. Posits that failing children only increases the likelihood that they will perform poorly in school, develop poor self-concepts, and eventually drop out of school. Retention also disproportionately affects poor and minority children, males, and…

Explores the experiences of English youths who have been excluded from school and are young offenders. Identifies four main themes in their stories: bullying, home life in relation to school, peer pressure, and truancy and exclusion. Examines the peer pressure-deviancy relationship in greater depth. (DSK)