Special education students' graduation rate in high school is 61%, compared to regular high school students at 80%, as noted in a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify and describe strategies that reduce the dropout rate of overaged special education students. The…

This study empirically tested 3 mechanisms commonly suggested to disadvantage youths whose mothers are incarcerated in prison. An event history analysis of school dropout was conducted on a sample of 6,008 adolescents in a large city created by merging several Illinois state administrative data. Findings revealed that adolescents are indeed at…

While educators have long argued that when local schools are successful, local communities benefit; there's now clear evidence that is the case. A new report, "The Economic Benefits from Halving the Dropout Rate: A Boom to Businesses in the Nation's Largest Metropolitan Areas," released in January by the Alliance for Excellent Education…

Great strides have been made by community school initiatives across the nation in their efforts to impact student achievement, attendance, student engagement, graduation rates, parent involvement and more. Data on community schools is growing and the authors encourage readers to review research reports and syntheses on results. The results…

Few people realize the impact that high school dropouts have on a community's economic, social, and civic health. Business owners and residents--in particular, those without school-aged children--may not be aware that they have much at stake in the success of their local high schools. Indeed, everyone--from car dealers and realtors to bank…

This article explores the sociopolitical context of education policy, particularly as it relates to Latina/o education. The authors highlight the status of Latinas/os within the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to examine the impact of education policy designed to benefit few and disenfranchise most. They draw attention to the injustices of Latinas/os…

This report presents the deliberations of the Midwest Regional Advisory Committee (MW RAC), one of 10 RACs established under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. sections 9601 et. seq.) to assess the educational needs of the region. The committee's report outlines the educational needs across the seven states of Illinois,…

In an effort to better understand the various economic benefits that a particular urban area could expect were it to reduce its number of high school dropouts, the Alliance for Excellent Education, has developed, with the generous support of State Farm[R], a sophisticated economic model in partnership with Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. The…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…

A committee of Illinois educators conducted a survey of the dropout problem in the state. Questionnaires were sent to secondary school administrators, 72 percent of whom returned a completed form. Information was sought on dropout prevention practices and programs. The document summarizes the highlights of the survey and also includes selected…

This report to the leaders of the minority and majority parties of the Illinois state legislature provides data on the number of students with disabilities who are estimated to exit the Illinois public school system after the 1996-97 school year. The data were prepared by averaging the information provided by districts regarding students who were…

High school principals and career and technical education (CTE) teachers throughout Illinois were subjects of this study which described principals' and CTE teachers' perceptions of the impact the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has had on high school CTE programs. Findings indicated principals and teachers collectively disagreed with "No…

According to the 2000 census, high school dropouts had a 52% employment rate, compared to 71% for high school graduates and 83% for college graduates. According to NCSE, the national dropout rate is 30% of which 80% had been chronically absent from school ("School attendance tracking: Challenges and effective practices"), which puts the…

Across the country, grade promotion is tied increasingly to performance on standardized tests. One concern about such policies is that they might increase dropout rates. Policy proponents counter that adverse effects of grade retention should be more than offset by beneficial effects from rising achievement. Using data from Chicago, this study…

Chicago, like many cities, suffers from a significant drop-out problem in its public high schools. The Chicago Public School system (CPS) committed itself in 2001 to utilize small schools--intimate learning environments of no more than 300 students built on communication, collaboration and meeting the needs of the community they serve--as a…