This paper examines the effects of school characteristics on both the probability of dropping out and the strongest predictor of dropping out -- absenteeism. The authors employ a sub-sample from the High School and Beyond (HS&B) database which contains results of background questionnaires and standardized achievement tests given in 1980 to…

Students' engagement at school has emerged as a critical factor across hundreds of dropout prevention and recovery programs in the United States. By supporting and improving academic, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement, we can mitigate the risk of dropping out. This article describes the history of school dropout, predictors of…

Dan Bloom of MDRC examines policies and programs designed to help high school dropouts improve their educational attainment and labor market outcomes. So called "second-chance" programs, he says, have long provided some combination of education, training, employment, counseling, and social services. But the research record on their effectiveness…

Communities In Schools (CIS) is the nation's fifth-largest youth-serving organization and the leading dropout prevention organization, delivering resources to nearly one million students in 3,250 schools across the country. To further their network-wide commitment to evidence-based practice, CIS collaborated with the National Dropout Prevention…

Each year, more than 8,200 young Philadelphians drop out of school. The first step to a solution, taken in 2005, was the gathering and examination of data to truly understand the dimensions of the problem and the characteristics of struggling students and out-of-school Philadelphia youth. These studies, conducted by researchers at the University…

The State-funded Attendance Improvement/Dropout Prevention program and the City-funded Dropout Prevention Program distributed over $30 million to the New York City Board of Education in 1985-86. This document is a summary report of an analysis of program implementation in the schools receiving these funds aimed at better understanding of political…

Over the last decade, between 347,000 and 544,000 10th- through 12th-grade students left school each year without successfully completing a high school program Status dropout rates represent the proportion of young people ages 16 through 24 who are out of school and who have not earned a high school credential. Status rates are higher than event…

This document presents the executive summary of a research project undertaken to provide a national overview of the dimensions of the dropout problem, focusing specifically on gender differences; and to identify strategies that are being used to address the dropout problem, assess effectiveness of these strategies, and suggest ways that these…

Lowering the student dropout rate in America is one of the most significant challenges facing educators today. This book calls attention to this problem, and offers hope and suggestions on how to resolve it using effective strategies taken from research and personal observations gleaned from successful dropout prevention programs in school…

This document presents a study of the effectiveness of the Job Training Partnership Act program Project STAY, designed to impact the dropout problem in Stockton, California area high schools. A literature review discusses dropout characteristics, schools that dropouts leave, employment opportunities for the general population and for dropouts,…

Study conclusively demonstrated that a special academic program in which positive reinforcement techniques were used is an effective way of changing attitude toward school and self. (Author)

A survey of 194 California high schools.

The school-leaving pattern of students aged 14 in 1978 was recorded by the Austin (Texas) Independent School District from 1978 to 1983, providing data on the socioeconomic, academic, and behavioral characteristics of dropouts and their reasons for dropping out. Several preventative measures are suggested. (PGD)

The dropout prevention model presented in this paper is derived from the assumption that dropping out of school is not totally a function of characteristics of youth who drop out. (Author)