This brief reports on the first year of a promising effort in Texas to deepen the postsecondary preparation that schools and programs offer. With support from the Greater Texas Foundation (GTF) and coaching and technical assistance from Jobs for the Future (JFF), five sites have begun using JFF's Back on Track: Postsecondary Success model and…

MDRC develops and studies programs to help young people who face major barriers in finding a path to stable adult life. Their recent roster of youth-related projects mainly targets three groups: at-risk high school students; dropouts disconnected from school and work; and system-involved youth at risk of disconnection, including youth exiting…

Quality data can be a powerful tool for teachers, administrators and policymakers to use when trying to improve schools or individual programs. Data can show if a dropout prevention program is working; if students are entering postsecondary programs ready to learn; and how students are doing once they leave the P-20 educational system. This…

High school students with disabilities who drop out are costly to society. Compared to those who graduate, they are more likely to be unemployed, dependent on public services, and involved in the criminal justice system. Consequently, helping students with disabilities graduate has become a prominent national concern. Students with disabilities…

High school students with disabilities who drop out are costly to society. Compared to those who graduate, they are more likely to be unemployed, dependent on public services, and involved in the criminal justice system. Consequently, helping students with disabilities graduate has become a prominent national concern. Students with disabilities…

High school students with disabilities who drop out are costly to society. Compared to those who graduate, they are more likely to be unemployed, dependent on public services, and involved in the criminal justice system. Consequently, helping students with disabilities graduate has become a prominent national concern. Students with disabilities…

While the number of minority students in postsecondary education has climbed since 1970, the rates of minority graduation are still too low. Factors adding to the dropout rate include: inadequate finances, poor academic preparation, low motivation, poor study habits, low basic skills, and low institutional support. This paper describes support…

The PASSAGEWAY Project (Program To Assist Secondary Students in Achieving Gainful Employment for West Alabama Youth) sought to increase the academic, social, and job skills of high-risk and dropout special education students. A cooperative program of the University of West Alabama, public schools, businesses, and social service agencies, the…

This paper describes a course of study offered by Bradford College in West Yorkshire, Great Britain, to twenty 16-19 year old students of Asian background who left school alienated from education as a process and school as an institution. The program offers English, prevocational, and vocational courses with the goal of improving the students'…

During the 1986-1987 school year, 80 educationally and economically disadvantaged students from three counties in Virginia were recruited into a program that was designed to support their education and encourage them to stay in school. Students participated in after-school workshops to improve their decision-making and interpersonal skills, and…

A three-year project, Pathfinder has concluded its second year of providing community-based, on-site career experiences to young people who have left high school either as graduates or dropouts and who wish to explore careers within a framework of occupational clusters. During the year from September, 1977, to August, 1978, 172 students received…

This publication reports on the Illinois Council on Vocational Education's (ICoVE) recognition program. The program was designed to (1) commend achievement in vocational education; (2) collect information about vocational education and evaluate its success; (3) provide a resource guide of successful vocational education programs and activities;…

Early school leaving is an issue internationally. In Australia, nearly one in three young people is at risk of not completing secondary education, a situation that affects long-term employment prospects and earning capacity. Not all leave early for the same reason, and their reasons are not necessarily negative ones. Six "types" of early…

The Transition Services program of the Onondaga-Dortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (New York) has been identified as an exemplary school-to-work program that includes students with disabilities. The program serves students aged 13-21, most with disabilities; the majority have mental retardation, serious emotional…

Work oriented education has been tied to national development in Malaysia since the 1960's. Increasing population, unemployment, and shortages of skilled manpower led the government to relate education more closely to work and develop technical and vocational education. Malaysia extended basic education to lower secondary manpower needs; and…