Efforts to improve educational attainment are hampered by the high school dropout crisis. At a time when governors are calling for changes to improve higher education access and success, more than 1 million youth ages 16 to 19 are not enrolled in school and do not have a high school diploma. Each year, an additional 390,000 youth drop out of…

In the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District has achieved a startling success over the last two years: it has recovered and graduated over 600 dropouts and put them on a clear pathway to college. Just a few years ago, low graduation rates, struggling high schools, and poor staff and student morale…

Georgia's drop-out rate is among the highest in the nation. Relying on statistics to design programs can be misleading. An in-depth study of South Georgia high schools shows the importance of developing drop-out programs for specific situations and students. The six schools helping to develop "Danny Dropout" and "Pine County High…

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…

Understanding why students drop out is important in developing effective dropout prevention strategies. Traditional research has focused on high school dropouts; recent interest uses a developmental approach and examines possibilities for earlier intervention. Each section of this report analyzes dropout prevention at the preschool, elementary,…

This report provides an overview of the operation of two innovative New York City dropout prevention programs, the Attendance Improvement and Dropout Prevention Program (AIDP) and the Dropout Prevention Program (DPP). First, basic program components, required and site-specific, are described briefly. Each program site must provide these…

Although each of the 11 programs evaluated in this report during the 1989-90 school year had its own unique design and objectives, their common goal was to increase the likelihood that at-risk students in Cleveland (Ohio) schools would complete their high school education. Programs were evaluated in terms of changes from the previous year in the…

This interim report examines the second-year implementation of dropout prevention programs in the 42 public schools that are part of the New York Dropout Prevention Initiative (NYDPI). Evaluators employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in gathering data on the 29 middle school and 13 high school program sites, and on the…

The Occupational Proficiency Training Program (OPT) was initiated in Mitchell County High School, Georgia, to identify potential dropouts, place them in an alternative vocational education program, provide special communications and mathematics assistance, and maintain knowledge through recordkeeping of a student's progress through the program.…

Efforts addressed at the pervasive school dropout problem in New York City received a boost in 1978 with the development of large scale, centrally initiated programs to reduce the number of high school dropouts. Based on the recommendations of two studies, the New York City Board of Education's Division of High Schools established outreach centers…

There is no need for costly new state or federal dropout prevention programs because 87.1 percent of youth now complete a high school education by age 24, nearly achieving President George Bush's goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by the year 2000. Calculations of high national and urban dropout rates based on the number of students who do not…

The One Major at a Time (OMAT) dropout program implemented for ninth and tenth graders by the Chicago, Illinois public schools is examined in this second year study. A description of the program includes information on its purpose, organization, instructional methods, student population, and objectives. Data on findings compare OMAT students with…

Legislation is being considered to authorize grants from the Department of Education for dropout prevention programs, reentry demonstration programs, and high school programs for certain welfare recipients instead of mandatory work or job training. There is also a call for the use of Job Training Partnership Act Summer Youth Program funds to be…

This study used the cohort method to determine the status of students who participated in the high school Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (AIDP) Program in 1985-86, one year later as of June 30, 1987. Among the findings are the following: (1) 41.3 percent had dropped out of school; (2) 7.2 percent had graduated or passed a General…

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…