One of the major problems confronting the leaders of the Nation today is the acute shortage of competent manpower. This problem is recognized in government, business, industry, and education. It has motivated professional groups as well as business and industry to develop incentive programs that have as their aim the proper training and eventual recruitment of high school and college graduates. Though many promising avenues of approach were agreed upon by the conference participants, it became apparent, that a uniform system of pupil accounting would become imperative to a nationwide, study. Such a system was developed during the second work conference. It became the basis of a four-year study of school dropouts in 14 large city school systems, beginning with the ninth-grade class of September 1951. The study which is reported in this bulletin classifies students according to sex and reason for dropout. It provides comparisons of school holding power during grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. It is hoped that this report will encourage independent research of greater magnitude by school systems and individual schools. Appended are: (1) Data Reported by 14 Cities; and (2) Information Pertaining to June 1955 Graduates. (Contains 2 tables, 3 charts, and 2 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]