Background: Education plays a pivotal role in empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills needed for careers, economic progress, and societal engagement. Dropping out of school before achieving a qualification undermines these opportunities and has an impact on individuals and society (Audit Commission, 2010; OECD, 2023). International…

Background/Context: The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 and the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015 spurred changes in the way educators use data. On the one hand, the policies inspired educators' awareness of large gaps in achievement between subgroups based on gender, race, and socioeconomic status. On the other hand, the policies…

To boost college graduation rates, policymakers often advocate for academic supports such as coaching or mentoring. Proactive and intensive coaching interventions are effective, but are costly and difficult to scale. We evaluate a relatively lower-cost group coaching program targeted at first-year college students placed on academic probation.…

This case illustrates ideas about systematic reviews of evidence and meta-analysis in a stepwise fashion. Presented is a discussion about studies of the effectiveness of interventions that are designed to prevent school dropout in low and low to middle income countries and to use tests in high-quality randomized controlled trials and high-quality…

This paper presents a review of the literature on dropout prevention interventions for students with disabilities. A variety of search methods, including electronic library searches, hand searches of journals, and Internet searches were used to acquire the widest possible set of research studies. To be included in this review, the studies must…

The rate of student departure from adult literacy programs is as high as 80% within the first 12 months (Porter, Cuban, & Comings, 2005). An examination of the literature reveals two perspectives concerning learner persistence: a "control perspective" and an "acknowledgement and accommodation perspective." The control…

Rigorous research on alternative high schools for at-risk students is extremely limited, especially for rural areas. There are case studies and descriptive reports of successful programs for rural students whose needs are not met in traditional schools. In general, these programs share the same characteristics as those found in urban areas. Some…

Reviews the literature on dropout prevention for school-aged children. A review of dropout prevention programs identified in the literature highlights methodological concerns, with a discussion of design, sampling, statistical analysis, and implementation issues. The interventions employed with greatest frequency in the studies reviewed emphasized…

Schools are experimenting with community service programs. Among these are service-based intervention programs for at-risk children and K-12 curricula of community service. Cites examples, the characteristics of effective programs, and proposed federal legislation. (MLF)

Eleven studies on effective dropout prevention programs are excerpted in this paper. The studies were published from 1981-1989 and include conference papers, journal articles, school district reports, and evaluations. The studies are analyzed to determine who are the students who have dropped out of school and which dropout prevention programs…

A study of 17 dropout prevention programs identified these common characteristics of successful programs: (1) multiple strategies integrated within a single program, (2) placement in environments dissimilar to traditional schools, (3) concentration of resources on a small target population, and (4) emphasis on vocational education and work…

Raising graduation rates for students attending schools in the United States is a national priority. As part of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools are required to track and report the percentage of students who graduate with a regular diploma in four years. The magnitude of the problem for student subgroups (including students of Hispanic and…

There is a growing concern at the national, state, and local levels over the number of students who are leaving school without graduating. In response to this concern, Spokane School District No. 81 in Spokane, Washington established a ninth-grade task force to examine the issue of dropouts. This report reviews related literature examined by the…

The objective of the Australian Commonwealth's Full Service Schools (FSS) Program has been to provide additional support to schools to develop innovative programs and arrangements that address the specific needs of students who are considered at risk of not completing Year 12 to a satisfactory level. The target group has been students primarily 16…

This literature review on mentoring at-risk students first encapsulates the history of North American mentoring programs, highlighting a late 19th-century Friendly Visiting Movement and recent 100 Black Men of Atlanta and the Toronto Learning Partnership projects. Mentoring program goals, benefits, effectiveness, challenges, and planning problems…