The data for this report on school dropouts in New York City were collected by means of in-depth interviews with high school staff members, students, and dropouts. A total of 229 persons were interviewed in 53 high schools with dropout prevention programs distributed throughout the city. All respondents were asked approximately 50 open-ended questions which allowed them to comment freely on a wide variety of issues. The report is divided into four major sections. The first section discusses problems that lead to dropping out, student perceptions of dropout prevention programs, the importance of early dropout prevention, and the evidence that dropouts can be successfully remediated. Section II is subdivided into eight chapters, each discussing reasons for the dropout problem as understood by staff members in the interview sample. Included in these chapters are discussions of attendance, academic failure, and discipline. Section III presents a discussion of the common elements of successful programs and the problems which have caused some programs to be i***fective. Recommendations for elementary, middle, and high schools are presented in Section IV. (Author/RLV)