Ninth Grade Academies (NGAs)--also called Freshman Academies--have attracted national attention as a particularly intensive and promising approach for supporting a successful transition for high school freshmen. An NGA is a self-contained learning community for ninth-graders that operates as a school within a school. NGAs have four core structural…

This report describes various methods for computing graduation and completion rates, and how they compare.

The ecological perspective holds that community and school activities are a rare product of interaction among adolescents, communities, families, and schools. This study was designed to assess the outcomes of a personal empowerment program. The sample consisted of 25 male and 27 female ninth grade students. Students took a pretest and received a…

The transfer to a new school or grade has been identified as a typical transition period for students that is usually characterized by declining academic performance and increased absences. At the close of the 1991-92 academic year 26% of 9th-grade students in a large urban high school were failing 50% or more of their courses. A preventive…

In spring of 1990, pursuant to the federally funded School Health Education Project to Prevent the Spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, an annual survey was conducted of Illinois ninth graders (n=1,181) to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs concerning Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Findings from the 1990 survey are…

The Ninth Grade Houses Program of the New York City public high schools is described, and evaluation outcomes and recommendations are presented. The general goal was to help ninth graders adjust to high school. The purposes were to: (1) generate student engagement; (2) provide opportunity for sustained, meaningful interaction with respected…

This study evaluated a career education program for 141 ninth grade students at Kemper County High School in rural Mississippi in an effort to reduce the dropout rate and increase career awareness. A mental health counselor gave students monthly instruction on career issues necessary for vocational life after high school graduation. A local…

The transition to high school is a crucial time in a student's academic career. This summary is presented as a caution to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the public to warn of some of the hazards of the transition year (grade nine). In 1989-90, ninth-graders in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District had the lowest…

Summarizes study to help a local high school locate problem areas among entering high school freshmen and improve environment and curriculum. Survey data from 314 students indicate females share school experiences with their families, but Hispanic males do not. Females have afterschool chores, but males have few chores. Females select positive,…

This report presents findings of the evaluation by the New York City public school system's Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment of three programs (Summer E.S.L. Welcome Plus, Summer Bilingual, and Project Omega) for immigrant students. The Summer E.S.L. (English as a Second Language) Welcome Plus program operated at 19 sites in New York…