The core features of the preindustrial model of school-to-work transition are needed now. An environment must be recreated in which young people see the vital connections among education, training, and work that were once so clear. The emerging consensus model has these features: combined formal schooling and structured on-the-job training leading…

A study of a continuous quality improvement effort at Auburn University (Alabama) is reported. The study investigated variables predicting which students are at risk of failure. Data were drawn from the records of pre-engineering students enrolling at the university in fall terms of 1991 and 1993-95 (n=2,505). Data sources included achievement…

Although attrition is repeatedly described as the number one problem in adult basic education (ABE), the raw numbers of attrition rates do not tell the whole story. Studies show noncompleters in both ABE and higher education sometimes leave when they feel their goals have been realized. Counting adults who "stop out" as dropouts is also…

This booklet describes two prevention programs, Peer Power, a program for girls, and Awareness and Development for Adolescent Males (ADAM), a program for boys. It is noted that these programs, designed to reach students before high school age, help young adolescents stay in school, delay sexual activity and pregnancy, and develop realistic career…

The very high incidence of school dropouts throughout the nation is viewed as one of the major factors contributing to the failure of the American educational system, affecting not only the schools but the society as a whole. The social, political, and economic implications of the dropout problem are explored. The ability of the United States to…

This case study describes a 2-year (1988-90) demonstration dropout prevention program, a collaboration between a rural school and a university. The dropout prevention program attempts to identify effective teaching strategies that will increase the academic successes of at-risk sixth-grade students and expand the use of those strategies among the…

Studies conducted by the National Rural Development Institute (NRDI) indicate that migrant students have a higher school dropout rate than non-migrant students. In addition, rural migrant students experience higher levels of family dysfunction and abuse, teen pregnancy, emotional difficulties such as depression or low self-esteem, poverty,…

The fourth revised edition of the migrant counselor's handbook emphasizes administration of the migrant counselor's duties, knowledge of procedures, and functional aids to carrying out work with migrant students. Part I provides definitions, explains counselor responsibilities and procedures, and includes in-state and out-of-state programs and…

An evaluative study was done of the Teen Outreach Program, a national, multi-site effort to reduce teenage pregnancy, school failure, and dropout. The study sought to identify the critical "active ingredients" of the program responsible for its success. The study was based on analyses of data collected at 114 different sites nationally,…

State legislation requires that the Texas Education Agency write a plan to reduce the state's cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to no more than 5 percent by 1997-98. This report presents the current plan, with current aggregate and disaggregate data on the dropout rate of students in grades 7 through 12 and projections for…

This publication presents the results of a study undertaken to measure the economic costs of students who drop out of secondary school in Canada and summarizes the social and economic costs of dropping out. The primary objectives of the report are to raise awareness of these costs among the business community and to motivate all stakeholders to…

This paper reports on three projects in California that have attempted to stem the tide of Latino dropouts and increase the college-going rates of the Latino population. Each of these three programs has tested a set of strategies aimed at increasing the educational attainment of Latino students, who now make up the largest single ethnic group in…

This how-to guide, which is designed to assist state and local welfare reform efforts, explains how to design, implement, and manage mandatory stay-in-school (learnfare) programs for teenage parents on welfare. The following topics are discussed in the guide's five chapters: the importance of focusing on teen parents on welfare, Ohio's Learning,…

A survey was conducted to evaluate nationally the retention of undergraduates at institutions of higher education. In particular the survey sought to: determine the rates at which full-time students persisted in and completed higher education; identify factors that institutional representatives felt influence students to leave school; and describe…

This proceedings report presents dropout statistics, descriptions of prevention programs, and recommendations for future efforts. After an introduction to the dropout problem, the proceedings contains transcripts of welcomes and greetings from the mayor of Lubbock and officials from Texas Tech's College of Education, the State Board of Education,…