About one in four students who enter high school will not graduate. Numerous dropout-prevention programs have been implemented nationwide in the past decade to increase the high school graduation rate. This growth in programs has made it more difficult for educators to determine the effectiveness of the many alternatives. This guide is designed to help school professionals evaluate programs for at-risk students. The guide can be used to assess need, document a program's progress, determine participants' satisfaction, allocate resources, and provide information to set policy. Six vignettes are used, one for each chapter, to focus on a different strategy for evaluating programs for at-risk students. Chapters cover the following topics: assessing students' needs using focus groups, identifying students for program participation and comparison groups using existing documentation, assessing effectiveness of the program in improving students' attitudes toward school using existing attitude scales, strengthening individualized instruction using an observation checklist, verifying school staff support using a written questionnaire, and establishing the level of parents' involvement in the program using interviews. Additional readings and standards and indicators of quality for evaluation of programs for at-risk students also are included. (Contains 63 references.) (JPT)