Uses event-history analysis to explore whether and how grade retention influenced graduation outcomes for a cohort of 707 youths from an urban school system. Repeating a grade from kindergarten to grade 6 was associated with an increase in the odds of dropping out. Explores the impact of being over age for grade. (SLD)

Offers suggestions to technology education teachers for motivating African-American youth who are at risk of dropping out of school and society. Suggests using their unique learning styles and emphasizing the fun of technology. (JOW)

A survey of 311 at-risk students participating in an Individual Prescription Program showed they had positive perceptions of school, careers, and success; positive role models; and high parent and teacher expectations. Many felt their career choices were limited by gender or ethnicity. A relationship between career information sources and career…

Questions whether the Toronto Board of Education's Triangle Program, intended to support lesbian and gay students at risk of dropping out, can help youth of color without addressing the interaction of racial and sexual identity. Suggests that the program further marginalizes these students, without addressing institutional racism and homophobia.…

Argues that creating separate schools for ninth-grade students improves their academic and social transition to high school. Supports argument with research results and personal anecdotes. Describes school district experiences in developing and operating ninth-grade centers. (PKP)

Reports on the personal experience of participating in an alternative high school, a project to reclaim at-risk, talented high school dropouts. Discusses the author's experiences, including fatherhood at a young age, on his way to discovering his artistic talent. Illustrations provided by author. (Author/JDM)

Early monitoring of potential dropouts by achievement testing tends to encourage more school leaving. Although noncompleters are directed to vocational training, the certification process tends to defeat its practical aims. The entire culture of school needs to be changed and academic elitism diminished. (Contains 24 references.) (SK)

Anti-truancy efforts are not new, but there are powerful new incentives which are now spurring school officials' interest in keeping students in class and their school. Not only does the "No Child Left Behind" Act require schools to boost student attendance and lower dropout rates, schools will never be able to succeed in meeting the law's Annual…

The purpose of the present study was to examine how personal characteristics (e.g., loneliness, interpersonal competence) and social characteristics (e.g., marginality) contributed to dropout risk among undergraduate students. The respondents (n=127 undergraduates) completed a questionnaire packet to assess all of the variables. Regression…

The Latino population continues to have extremely high dropout rates compared to other racial and ethnic groups. This trend is particularly disturbing given the major demographic changes currently under way in this country, with a disproportionate share of the current and future growth of the U.S. population due to the Latino population. Failure…

More than half of all Denver Public Schools (DPS) students who start in the ninth grade do not graduate within four years. If DPS is to significantly impact this graduation crisis, it must prioritize the implementation of systemic and research-based strategies around prevention, recuperation, and recovery of off-track students. With a 100 percent…

Many school district leaders, high school administrators, and teachers--particularly those in urban areas--have struggled to reduce high school dropout rates but find themselves overwhelmed by the dimensions of the problem. Consider: Research has shown that lack of preparation in elementary and middle school, long before students reach high…

Since 1999, the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) has provided funding to provincial school authorities for projects designed to improve student learning and performance. Conducted in three-year cycles, this unique approach has successfully helped to initiate approximately 1,600 grassroots projects led by school districts, teachers,…

John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom take a close look at the problems posed when students do not complete high school. The authors begin by discussing the ongoing, sometimes heated, debate over how prevalent the dropout problem is. They note that one important reason for discrepancies in reported dropout rates is whether holders of the General…

The relationship between transition planning/coordinating interventions and transition outcomes for secondary-aged youth with disabilities was explored in this systematic review. A total of 31 studies intervening with 859 youth with a wide variety of disabilities were reviewed. Using the transition intervention framework of Kohler and Field (2003)…