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…

This final report discusses the findings of a project that investigated research on the use of educational strategies with students with serious emotional disturbances (SED) for the purpose of communicating to teachers and parents which techniques were effective in serving minority youth with SED. The project reviewed 250 documents to synthesize…

"Westhills" is a multiethnic coastal community in San Diego County, California, in which Mexican Americans comprise approximately 22 percent of the population. This book reports ethnographic research on a group of working-class Chicana adolescents in one Westhills barrio and their problems, school experiences, immersion in two…

This paper synthesizes data from recent reports about the well-being of U.S. children and youth, policies and proposals for enhancing at-risk children's quality of life, critical questions about the impact of these policies and proposals on all children and their families, trade-offs needed if proposed policies to assist disadvantaged children and…

This booklet examines the unique difficulties of delivering education services to at-risk children and youth with exceptionalities who live in rural areas. An introductory chapter considers the extent of the problem and identifies such strategies as providing self-esteem education, appropriate preservice and inservice training,…

As part of a long-term study of dropout related issues, this serial issue focuses on the topic of extracurricular activities and their availability in 15 of the largest urban districts in New Jersey. Following an opening section reviewing some of the positions taken over the years regarding extracurricular activities and their role in schools, the…

Research results appear inconclusive as to the relationship of student attendance to student achievement, although most practitioners cite increased student attendance as an extremely desirable school outcome. The purpose of the examination of student attendance in the Louisiana public schools was twofold: (1) to determine the relationship of…

An evaluation of California's statewide Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) Program was based mainly on a sample of more than 2,500 welfare recipients in five of the six counties included in the ongoing evaluation. The evaluation drew on previously completed analyses and new data based on a survey of these recipients and the results of a…