Four years ago, to address disengaged students in Franklin, Tennessee, Williamson County School District turned to an alternative program called the middle-college high school. This concept allows high school students to complete their coursework on a college campus. More than 30 middle-college high schools serve disengaged students nationwide.…

This manual for dropout prevention planning was prepared to assist Florida schools in developing a comprehensive plan for effective dropout prevention programs in compliance with the state's Dropout Prevention Act. The manual is divided into three parts. Part A contains instructions for developing the comprehensive plan, as well as explanations of…

Describes a dropout prevention program used for eight years in Joliet Township, Illinois, high schools. (MD)

Strategies for preventing or responding to truancy and dropping out of school are offered in this resource paper. The document's first few pages draw on statistics from around the United States to illustrate the magnitude of the problem in terms of both its scope and its consequences. The paper then turns to its major focus, strategies to increase…

This manual provides a synthesis of research-based dropout prevention and intervention and offers examples of interventions that show evidence of effectiveness. This has proven to be a difficult task because the intervention research on dropout and school completion that can be used to inform practice is incomplete (Dynarski & Gleason, 2002;…

Schools are raising standards to improve academic and technical achievement and intellectual growth for all groups of students, particularly at-risk students. This newsletter contains tools and strategies that school leaders and teachers are using successfully to help students meet higher expectations. It organizes the techniques into five…

This position paper was written to answer a series of basic questions frequently asked about attrition and retention at Empire State College (ESC), New York. The questions addressed in the report are: (1) What is the attrition rate at ESC? (2) How does ESC's attrition rate compare to other colleges? (3) Who are the leavers? (4) When does attrition…

Students leave school for many reasons. Pregnancy, family circumstances, economic necessities, substance abuse, lack of academic success, or disciplinary actions can influence a young person's decision to quit school. There is no single solution to the dropout crisis. Just as there are a variety of causes behind a student's decision to drop out of…

This handbook is intended as a practical guide for adult basic education (ABE) directors, counselors, and faculty in an effort to increase ABE student retention. Following a literature review and description of the research problem, part I contains data obtained from the four major surveys administered during a project that investigated the causes…

Discusses the high school dropout problem, focusing on young people's reasons for leaving school and schools' efforts to retain them. Recommends more effective primary education, computer programs to identify youth at risk, and coalitions of schools, businesses, and government agencies to pair learning and work experience. Cites 15 references.…

A Texas school district near El Paso and the Mexican border has established the Student Entrepreneur Center: a K-12 program stressing hands-on application of basic business principles. The district is transforming a 16-acre site into a combination learning center and tourist destination. (MLF)

Enrollment management differs from admissions in its concern for students at every stage of their association with the college. As such, it must address retention issues. Academic advising can contribute to improved retention, but to be effective it must be appropriate. A number of advising models are currently in use. (MSE)

This study examined official records on retention from the Department of Education to ascertain national and state status and trends of retention/dropouts. The records showed that since 1983 the retention rate has peaked and is beginning to decline. In this investigation of the dropout situation in Indiana, questionnaires were administered to and…

When this research report was first conceived, the current economic crisis was only just on the verge of revealing its full extent. Economic crisis or no economic crisis, over the years funding for PK-12 education has been a constant struggle. While all schools continue to face difficulties, for various reasons rural schools have different and…

About one in four students who enter high school will not graduate. Numerous dropout-prevention programs have been implemented nationwide in the past decade to increase the high school graduation rate. This growth in programs has made it more difficult for educators to determine the effectiveness of the many alternatives. This guide is designed to…