Focuses on poor grades, one of the primary reasons students drop out of school. Recommends that borderline students be earmarked for special treatment rather than be held to rigorous academic standards or passed when they are actually failing. Suggests that operational procedures for the implementation of special treatment be pedagogically…

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…

The "National Dropout Prevention Newsletter" is published quarterly by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Policy Matters; (2) A Conversation With A State Policymaker (Stephen Canessa); (3) Policy Matters at the School Level (Steven W. Edwards); (4) EEDA: Promise or Peril? (Sam…

We study a set of programs implemented in Philadelphia high schools that focus on boosting high school graduation, and especially college attendance, using data from the Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS). We examine the effects of these programs on a set of schooling-related outcomes during and after high school. The PELS data-set…

The high school completion rate for the U.S. has increased only slightly over the last quarter of a century. A promising area of focus for dropout prevention efforts may be found in research that assesses how messages about educational attainment may affect school completion rates. The supportive communication framework is used to address how…

The transition into high school is a critical point in the educational pipeline, and ninth-grade can be characterized as one of its leakiest junctures. This policy brief examines how some states and districts are currently easing the transition into high school for students. It focuses on five key challenges that states, districts and schools…