"Planned", "artificial", or "formal" mentoring of students at risk of dropping out of high school has become an important component of many school systems over the past few years. Mentoring of at risk students appears to have originated in the United States in the 1980's. In Canada, at risk student mentoring programs have grown substantially in the past few years. The diverse use of the term "mentoring" has concerned a number of researchers and practitioners in the field, who note that the term is used for such a broad set of activities and objectives that it may become meaningless. The link between mentoring program and results--while promising--has not yet been definitely shown by available research. Implementation of planned mentoring, in trying to replicate the 'magic' of natural relationships, often runs into logistical snags. The programs often exist in a sort of administrative limbo and are often financially fragile. Recent research suggests that in contrast to earlier expectations, mentoring should be thought of as modest interventions given the number of limitations facing programs. Results of these newer innovations will not be known for some years. A great deal more needs to be done before the true picture of mentoring is seen. Contains 63 references. (JBJ)