In 2010, the authors shared a Civic Marshall Plan to create a Grad Nation. Through that first report and subsequent update, they saw hopeful signs of progress in boosting high school graduation rates in communities across the country. This 2012 report shows that high school graduation rates continue to improve nationally and across many states and…

This 2012 report shows that high school graduation rates continue to improve nationally and across many states and school districts, with 12 states accounting for the majority of new graduates over the last decade. Tennessee and New York continue to lead the nation with double-digit gains in high school graduation rates over the same period. The…

Experiences from dropout programs that serve at-risk students at a North Carolina school district identify planning and management considerations. Among these are that dropout rates and other measures of success must be standardized; and staff selection, duty assignments, and workloads are different for at-risk educators because of inordinate time…

Preventing dropouts is the main topic of the 12 publications reviewed in this annotated bibliography. A statistical analysis of dropouts in Portland, Oregon, revealed that the correlation by school was far greater than correlation by residential area. In another study, approximately 155 droputs were questioned and most believed that the school…

Although the national reports have not focused on the problem, effective schools must address the needs of potential school dropouts. The author rebuts some of the common arguments against dropout prevention programs, arguing that successful dropout prevention is one of the key indicators of overall school effectiveness. (Author/TE)

Oregon's annual dropout rate increased from 6 percent in the 1992-93 school year to 7.4 percent in the 1994-95 school year. Some schools, however, managed to reduce their dropout rate. This report explores the strategies that worked for 15 Oregon high schools that reduced their dropout rate. Interviews were conducted with representatives of Oregon…

A study was done to describe the development of seven alternative schools for youth who dropped out of high school or who were at risk of doing so on the model of a Brooklyn (New York) alternative school, High School Redirection. The replication demonstration took place in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 school years in Cincinnati (Ohio), Denver…

To reduce its dropout rate, Ohio County Schools in Wheeling, West Virginia implemented a multifaceted, sequential intervention plan. Its success indicates that direct, personal, immediate, and caring communication with parents and students remains the most effective and least costly way to link home with school. (Author/LHW)

The New York City Board of Education's 1984-85 Attendance Improvement/Dropout Prevention Program was less than a complete success. This report compares the least and most successful schools, analyzing the factors that determine success: (1) size, (2) cost, and (3) services. Successful programs were consistently smaller, serving a smaller portion…

This document summarizes the literature on the causes of dropping out, reviews national dropout prevention initiatives, proposes a set of principles to guide dropout prevention programs, and recommends a framework of policies for the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Public Schools. The dropout literature indicates that dropping out is a developmental…

The number of dropouts is increasing and is particularly high in urban areas and among minority students. Dropouts earn less over their lifetimes, are in poorer health, and do not have the technological skills needed for newly-developing jobs. The federal government, the private sector, and educators have made serious commitments to bring down the…

Arguing that educational disadvantage, underachievement, and dropping out are problems that originate with schools as well as students, this document describes the Work and Learning Center in Madison, Wisconsin, that was designed to meet the needs of high school dropouts. The first section gives disadvantaged students' perspectives on the school…

Effective schools provide at-risk students with a community of support that encourages school membership and educational engagement. This study describes effective dropout prevention programs, develops a generalizable, theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between at-risk students and their schools, and suggests local and state…

The purpose of this study was to determine what Ontario high schools might do in order to increase student retention. Four approaches were taken. The first focuses on the social ecology of high schools, looking at how they relate to their environment. The second focuses on organizational characteristics that others have reported are associated…

A holistic analysis of the dropout problem is presented in this collection of essays, which critically examines a variety of research traditions. The book examines the major groups within the dropout population, factors within schools that contribute to dropping out, and the larger social and economic context within which dropping out occurs.…