In the United States, our traditional educational model is outdated, with subpar academic achievement and a high dropout rate. Alternative education provides non-traditional settings designed to help prevent students from falling through the cracks, but the atypical format and at-risk population can make it difficult to assess how effective…

This dissertation is comprised of three essays on the economics of education. The first and third chapters examine marijuana legalization and its effects on students, while the second chapter examines the impact of pension incentives on teacher quality. The first chapter examines the extent to which there are negative spillovers of recreational…

The dropout rate of minority students, mainly African American male special education students in the public school system, is a grave concern for society for many years. The youth who drop out of high school often ends up unemployed and in legal complications. His higher education chances become non-existence, and the student's situation causes…

In April 2014 the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) released its annual statewide Dropout Report covering the 2012-13 school year. This district report contains the dropout rate for WCPSS high school students and also depicts rates for other large school districts in North Carolina (NC) in addition to selected WCPSS student…

In today's economy, graduating from high school is more important than ever. The economic consequences of dropping out of high school are more severe than in the past, with diminished job prospects and life-time earnings (Rouse, 2007). There are also substantial social costs associated with high school dropouts such as lower productivity and tax…

Funded by an Investing in Innovation (i3) Validation grant, the Rural Innovative Schools (RIS) Project is the first widespread effort to scale up the early college model by implementing it in comprehensive high schools. This paper will present preliminary findings from the evaluation of this project. The impact study uses a quasi-experimental…

Purpose: In an era of unprecedented student measurement and emphasis on data-driven educational decision making, the full potential for using data to target resources to students has yet to be realized. This study explores the utility of machine-learning techniques with large-scale administrative data to identify student dropout risk. Research…

Children enter school with vastly different skill levels and formal schooling often magnifies these disparities over time. Widening achievement gaps between high- and low-income children have grown substantially in the last 50 years. Further, the opportunity gap facing most low-income students contributes to a host of academic and social…

More students are deciding to dropout of school prior to graduation. As a result the dropout rate has become a hot topic in education across the United States. The average high school dropout salary is approximately 50% less than the salary of a high school graduate. The social factors are another reason the dropout rate needs to be a high…

Over the past decade, SREB state policy-makers have focused on actions to reduce dropout rates and increase high school graduation rates. Some policy-makers have suggested that raising their state's compulsory attendance age (often called the dropout age) to require students to stay in school until age 17 or 18 is an important step. However,…

This applied dissertation was designed to describe and explain the dropout phenomenon occurring in a rural high school in southeastern North Carolina. Caucasian students were dropping out at a disproportionate rate compared to other ethnic groups in the school. Over the last 4 years, 68 students did not graduate with their prospective class at the…

Barnes, Mullen, and Lieb (2013) suggested that the effective implementation of the freshman academy promoted positive achievement outcomes for students of color. From a sociocultural perspective through the theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT), understanding the existence of racism is crucial to a positive academic environment…

While high school graduation rates are on the rise nationwide, too many students still never reach that milestone, with 7,000 on average dropping out every day. Recognizing that many students need additional support to succeed in school, Communities In Schools (CIS) works to provide and connect students with integrated support services to keep…

The WCPSS dropout rate for grades 9-12 fell to 2.83 % in 2011-12, down from 3.2% in the previous year. The NC overall rate decreased in 2011-12 to 3.01% from 3.43% in 2010-11. Other large school districts in North Carolina, including Durham (3.55%), Forsyth (3.38%), and Mecklenburg (3.20%), had higher dropout rates in 2011-12 than did WCPSS, while…

In the 2012/13 school year American Indian students accounted for 1.1 percent of K-12 students nationwide and 1.4 percent of K-12 students in North Carolina (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). Research has identified substantial achievement gaps between American Indian and other students on national tests, in graduation rates, and in…