This report presents findings from a multi-year project on handicapped and non-handicapped high school dropouts, including a longitudinal study of high school students in five Colorado school districts and a social ecological study to identify community characteristics which predispose a school district to high dropout rates. The longitudinal study tracked 460 students from 9th to 12th grades or until they dropped out. The ecological study examined all 177 Colorado school districts. Findings from the longitudinal study are reported for dropouts, stagnators, thrivers, and middlers, with data on: basic adjustments/bonding patterns to high school; family background; differential school climates and student experiences; peer relations; personal characteristics and behavior; changes in youth between 9th and 12th grades; and prediction of dropping out and school withdrawal. Results of the ecological study are reported for handicapped and nonhandicapped students and include the following: variation in dropout rates across school districts; correlations between dropout rates of different groups of students; characteristics of communities with high dropout rates; the importance for prediction of both community characteristics and school district educational variables; and a typology of school districts. Appendices include: (1) discussion of scales and measures used in the study; and (2) the questionnaire. Includes 91 references. (DB)