This 5-year longitudinal randomized study focused on the effects of a dropout prevention program implemented at two urban high schools. The program incorporated the characteristics of personalization found in previous research to have some positive effects, and typical of the type of programs implemented in many high schools nationwide. The…

About one in four students who enter high school will not graduate. Numerous dropout-prevention programs have been implemented nationwide in the past decade to increase the high school graduation rate. This growth in programs has made it more difficult for educators to determine the effectiveness of the many alternatives. This guide is designed to…

To give Congress the information it needs to make informed decisions about initiatives aimed at school dropouts, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has published a two-phase report: Phase 1, "School Dropouts: The Extent and Name of the Problem" (see ED 274 756), completed in 1986, provides information on the dropout rate, characteristics of…

Local school dropout programs are surveyed to identify the approaches used to prevent or overcome dropping out and to obtain views of local program administrators about dropout problems and programs. The programs had the following basic elements in common: (1) poor and minority teenagers who have multiple problems are targeted; (2) multiple…

Inner-city youth are at high risk for dropping out of high school. Within this article, risk factors associated with dropout and strategies for effective prevention and intervention are reviewed. An example of a school-based drop-out prevention program is highlighted. The FUTURES Program is a school-based drop-out prevention program designed to…

The costly supplemental or alternative programs that combat chronic school failure and continued high dropout rates are not always effective for the following reasons: (1) students do not always find out which programs are available, and (2) if no suitable program is available, there is usually no one responsible for trying to create one. People…

In the United States, illiterate adults account for 20 percent of citizens over age 16. Yearly, 5 percent of these adults without a high school diploma are enrolled in Adult Basic Education (ABE) courses, which offer few appropriate counseling services. In order to study the counseling services available to ABE students in Maryland, on-site visits…

Vocational Village was opened by the Portland (Oregon) School District in 1968 to provide opportunities for students who had not been successful in traditional high school programs. A basic concept of the programs initiated at Vocational Village was the desire to personalize and individualize instruction. However, as operations got under way it…