This issue reviews grade span, or grade configuration. Catherine Paglin and Jennifer Fager's "Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where?" provides an overview of issues and concerns related to grade spans and supplies profiles of eight Northwest schools with varying grade spans. David F. Wihry, Theodore Coladarci, and Curtis Meadow's…

Dropout rates are particularly problematic measures for Hispanic youth. One-third of Hispanic adolescents are foreign-born. Their sending countries tend to have much lower rates of secondary school completion than does the United States. This digest presents recent tabulations on the number of Latino high school dropouts, noting pitfalls in…

An overview of issues and problems in identifying and predicting dropouts is presented in this Digest. The topics discussed are as follows: factors associated with dropping out; defining and calculating dropouts; problems in prediction; the usefulness of current prediction models; and suggestions for improving prediction. The recommendation is…

A goal adopted at the 1990 Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia, aims to increase the high school graduation rate to 90 percent by the year 2000. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports three types of dropout rates: (1) event rates report the percentage of students who left high school without finishing work toward a…

This ERIC digest describes the lives of migrant families, migrant students' education, and migrant parents' involvement in their children's education. Migrant families tend to travel along well-established geographic routes which can be identified as the East Coast Stream, the Mid-Continent Stream, and the Western Stream. In 1986, the average…

High school dropouts are usually academic underachievers who adjust to social environments with difficulty. When they leave school, they develop even greater behavior problems and have more trouble getting employment than do high school graduates. To prevent dropouts, schools try to find funds for dropout prevention programs, work with agencies…

Research generally points to a negative relationship between school or district size and student achievement. When all else is held equal (particularly community or individual socioeconomic status), comparisons of schools and districts based on differences in enrollment generally favor smaller units. A recent study found that small elementary…

The problem of dropouts among special education students is summarized. After a brief overview of the problem, various studies are cited indicating a substantially higher incidence of dropping out of high school prior to program completion for handicapped than for non-handicapped students. Implications and recommendations for educational policy…

This paper provides a synthesis of research and theory directly related to retention of adult students. In the first of five major sections, readers are provided with a brief discussion of the nature and significance of the dropout-retention problem. Section 2 reviews research findings relating to who drops out and why. Sociodemographic,…

This booklet addresses the difficulties of comparing and drawing meaning from dropout data prepared by different agencies, and examines the characteristics of students--and of schools--that place students at risk for leaving school prematurely. The booklet describes prevention programs and presents evidence on their effectiveness. It reviews…

While becoming increasingly important to the economic and social development of the United States, Mexican-Americans still face barriers that hinder their full partnership in U.S. society. This ERIC digest is a summary of the latest available demographic and socioeconomic trends on Mexican-Americans. It discusses the broad implications for…

Determining how many students drop out of school and why they leave is not easy. The definition of a "dropout" varies from school district to school district, and the mobility of students makes counting them accurately nearly impossible. In an effort to define dropouts in a way that can be applied uniformly across the country, a…

Is the criticism of today's public schools and its employees unwarranted? This document highlights some data that cast the performance of American public schools in a more favorable light. Contrary to popular belief, today's students compare favorably with those in the past and with students in other countries. A higher percentage of American…

Schools within schools are large public schools that have been divided into smaller autonomous subunits to create a sense of community and cohesiveness among students and staff. This digest discusses the benefits, drawbacks, varieties, and sources of funding for schools within schools. Designers of these schools seek the advantages of both large…

Researchers at the Policy Information Center of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) have analyzed information from the National Center for Education Statistics; data from state, city, and other sources; and results from recent surveys of high school students to present a summary of the current dropout situation. The 1995 ETS report, "Dreams…