An Economic Institute study concludes that real per-pupil spending between 1967 and 1991 increased by 61%. Regular education's share declined from 80% to 59%. The biggest "squeaky wheel" is special education, followed by bilingual education, alternative instruction, dropout prevention, school lunch, and higher education Pell grants. The…

Presents findings from the evaluation of the Keep Youth in School program, which was designed to address the drop-out problem among high-risk youth in an urban community. Discusses what was learned during a three-year period in the program's development. (PCB)

New York's Dropout Prevention Initiative (DPI) is examined from the perspective of Dewey's educational philosophy. DPI employs an approach which "blames the victim" in contrast to the Deweyan approach which considers the social organization of schools as critical. Three components of DPI are critiqued: attendance incentives, career…

In Australia, several governments are providing direct financial grants to students from low-income families to encourage school continuation through grade 12. This paper examines the potential role one scheme (ASTUDY) plays in student decision making about school continuation. Data suggest that the prospect of obtaining a grant did not…

Discusses results of a study that identified promising practices in both dropout prevention and transition programs for youth at risk in 67 Florida school districts. Practices related to timing (grade range), curriculum, setting, and partnerships are reviewed. (SLD)

Comprehensive support was provided to urban, first-time adolescent mothers in a prospective research project designed to reduce repeat pregnancy and school dropout rates. Home visits, parenting classes, school advocacy, and case-management services were provided. Intervention (n=34) and control (n=29) groups were followed to evaluate the…

The middle school teacher is the first line of defense against dropout risk for students. This article presents a plan for teachers to design and conduct learning units that cure, rather than cause, further risk. The plan is supported by a model based on recent brain research that meshes student interests with curricular constraints and goals.…

America's secondary schools are failing far too many of their students. Policymakers and members of the education community generally agree that the problems in America's high schools have reached crisis proportions in recent years. Transforming schools and educating all students well requires thoughtful, coordinated, systemic change. To ensure…

The reason that the school dropout crisis is now referred to as a "silent epidemic" is because, when we weren't paying attention, the graduation rate in our country slipped to a level that threatens the very health and well-being of our society. Each year, almost one-third of all public high school students--and nearly one-half of all…

To increase attendance rates and to decrease dropout rates in New York State, the state legislature established the Attendance Improvement and Dropout Prevention Program in 1984. The State Office of the Comptroller audited the State Department of Education's administration of the program from July 1, 1992 through April 30, 1994. The Comptroller's…

The District of Columbia Junior High School Intensive Care and School Involvement Program (JHSICSIP) was designed to improve achievement and attendance among at-risk students, with the ultimate goal of preventing school dropouts. This program completed its second year of implementation during school year 1990-91 and operated in six junior high…

A 1990 Task Force report outlined the problem of the high dropout rate (40-60 percent) among Idaho's Hispanic-American students. This follow-up report presents state goals related to preventing Hispanic students from dropping out and makes specific recommendations to accomplish each goal. State-level goals are strong leadership, adequate funding,…

An evaluation of an alternative program for at-risk high school students offered in the Porter County (Indiana) school system is described in this report. The evaluation was based on student assessments of the program, obtained through use of an interview format. The program, which provides instruction in basic subject areas required for…

Noting that a better grasp of the dynamics of student development is needed if dropout prevention is to move beyond temporary and usually tardy palliative programs, this report reviews current research on the factors that determine whether or not students will complete high school. It also suggests avenues of future research in order to yield the…

Strategies for reducing by one-half the school dropout rate in the southern United States are presented in this report. Sixteen recommendations made by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) are discussed. These involve the following general areas: setting local goals, focusing on student outcomes, improving the reporting system, and…