Problems with conducting randomized field experiments in education are explored. Focus is on problems encountered while evaluating a group of dropout prevention projects. Project planners were asked to manipulate the subject eligibility criteria until they identified as eligible three to four times as many students as they could serve. They were…

A study for the South Australian Government gathered data on student enrollment and graduation rates in Diploma and Associate Diploma courses; documented initiatives for multiple entry and exit structures; proposed other possible approaches, using selected courses as case studies; investigated problems associated with providing multiple entry and…

A study examined the transition from secondary to post-secondary education and the opportunities for academic preparation and planning available to Minnesota secondary students. Data concerning post-secondary enrollment patterns, curriculum, planning, and remedial and developmental studies were gathered from a number of sources. Extensive results…

This study used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students to examine whether social activities had an impact on the academic performance of 832 youth with learning disabilities. More than one-third of the high-school youth were reported to see friends outside of school 6 or 7 days a week. These students had…

This curriculum guide is designed to lower the dropout rate and improve the academic achievement of handicapped and nonhandicapped high school students by developing their personal and social skills. It may be used in a variety of classroom, special education, and guidance settings. The lessons use relevant experiences to stimulate learning…

The employability of secondary-level youth is considered by a youth employment company official in testimony to the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Attention is directed to ways in which young people, and particularly the economically disadvantaged, can acquire the necessary reading, writing, and math skills for on-the-job success.…

The influence of academic, demographic, and social characteristics of college freshmen on sophomore enrollment status was investigated, along with reasons for attrition. A total of 139 freshmen at St. Edward's University in Texas were surveyed at the beginning and end of the freshman year, using the Survey of Entering Freshmen and the End of…

A longitudinal study was conducted to examine long-term effects of the Parent Education Follow Through Program (PEFTP) on participating students enrolled in the Richmond, Virginia, Public School System. PEFTP, one of 15 federally funded national Follow Through models, implements its compensatory elementary education program in various communities…

This book presents policy recommendations for ensuring the success of American citizens in the areas of welfare prevention, school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, adult literacy, and alcohol and drug abuse. Welfare prevention strategies involve reduction of welfare dependency and targeting of resources and programs that reduce the need for families…

In 1985 the Center for Educational Development (CED) and the Urban League began an initiative to improve the public schools in Rochester, New York. This was in response to growing concern and supporting evidence about young people dropping out of school and/or receiving an inadequate education. Task forces were convened to study the issues behind…

In 1986, a study was conducted at Rancho Santiago College (RSC) to determine the reasons that students whose educational goal was to transfer to a four-year college did not complete their objective. In fall 1983, 6,030 of the students enrolled at RSC indicated on their application for admission that they planned to transfer to a four-year college.…

In July 1988, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) initiated the Systematic Assessment of Leavers (SAL), a 2-year, 2-phase research activity to develop and implement a monitoring process to identify the personal, demographic, institutional, and environmental factors associated with leaving the college. The target populations of the study were…

The articles in this volume document an educational situation which underserves Chicanas/Latinas and contributes to an unraveling of women's power to perform creative functions in society. The lack of research on this topic only serves to hide the problem which threatens to undermine the educational success of a major percentage of Chicana/Latina…

This paper describes the conceptual model of retention used as the framework for research on institutional effectiveness at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). First, an overview of the literature on student attrition is presented, followed by a specific review of research based on Tinto's model of student attrition. This model maintains…

A preliminary examination of two approaches adopted in California to address the high school dropout problem is presented. Focus is on comparing aggregate impacts of State Bill (SB) 65 and of California Local Educational Reform Network (C-LERN) approaches to high school dropout reduction and prevention between 1985-86 and 1987-88. Four groups of…