Retention is defined as when a student is required to repeat the grade in which they were enrolled the previous year. This report provides important information on statewide student grade retention statistics, including retention data by grade level, race/ethnicity, gender, in special education status, limited English proficiency status, and…

This bulletin discusses approaches that reformers are using nationwide to bring about improvement in urban schools. It focuses on (1) embracing more choices (school vouchers, charter schools, private management, public school transfers, home schooling, enrolling high school students in community colleges, and virtual education); (2) holding…

This collection of papers examines prior and current research and policy on grade repetition and social promotion. Papers include: "Where Is Lake Wobegon, Anyway? The Controversy Surrounding Social Promotion" (Richard Rothstein); "Student Retention: Why Is There a Gap between the Majority of Research Findings and School…

In 1996, Chicago became the epicenter for this debate when it "ended social promotion" in the third, sixth, and eighth grades. While not the first, Chicago's initiative has been the most sustained to date and has produced the clearest evidence of positive as well as negative results. Test scores rose rapidly after the institution of…

This paper provides an in-depth review and analysis of literature on dropping out from school, and focuses on children who have gained access, but fail to complete a basic education cycle. The main discussion is around why and how children drop out from school. Here drop out is not presented as a distinct event, but rather a process where a range…

Researchers and policymakers have pointed to the lagging scores of eighth graders on international, national, and state assessments as evidence that students are not prepared to meet high academic standards and that middle grades reform is needed. In response to these concerns, educators have introduced reforms designed to provide middle-level…

This report describes a practicum project designed to help first- through fourth-grade teachers acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and strategies necessary to work effectively with a diverse student population; improve the social and academic performance of culturally diverse students; and increase parent involvement at school. The…

With the move to self-governance and the dismantling of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), there is a need to know if Aboriginal education systems are providing superior, adequate, marginal, or unsatisfactory standards of education for their students. A study of 165 First Nations students attending a K-10 First Nations school sought to…

This compilation contains executive summaries of 13 program evaluations conducted by the Office of Research and Evaluation of the Austin Independent School District (AISD) (Texas), as well as short summary reports on 3 programs. The following summaries are included: (1) "1991-92 Dropout Report"; (2) "Faculty/Staff Recruitment…

This study investigated outcome data obtained from six samples of primary school students, four of which consisted of at-risk students. Participants were: (1) 46 students from a transitional first-grade, developmental, regular education school readiness program (SRP) for at-risk kindergartners; (2) 20 nonplaced kindergartners who were recommended…

A new elementary retention policy was implemented in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in 1981-82. The AISD Board of Trustees requested a three-year study of the impact and effectiveness of the policy. This report describes results from the second year of the study, including the effect of the change in policy on staff development,…

Practices of attendance, suspension, and non-promotion in middle schools in Boston (Massachusetts) encourage at-risk students to drop out. School policies and practices, student data, and interviews with at-risk students were reviewed to determine which practices encourage disengagement from school. Personal narratives are included. Major findings…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 38 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effect of phrase-segmented, antiphrase segmented, and standard text on the free recall and probed recall of third and fourth grade developmental readers;…

To study the relationship between the school and the rural family, and particularly to establish reasons for student dropout, a questionnaire was administered in 1973 to 103 students who dropped out of school in 2 large rural towns in the Veneto, Italy. Responses indicated that about 60% of the adolescents left school to help out the family or…

Houston, Texas, was one of the cities awarded a grant via the Annenberg funds to implement school reforms. It developed the Houston Annenberg Challenge with local collaborators to initiate and nurture systemic change, thus improving education. A research and evaluation study investigated how funded schools implemented the reform initiative, what…