The influence of an intensive two-day orientation to college on freshman voluntary persistence and withdrawal decisions was estimated with an explanatory causal model. Results suggest the major influence of orientation on persistence is indirect, transmitted through positive effects on student social integration and commitment to the institution.…

This evaluation of the Detroit (Michigan) public schools was designed to restructure the ninth grade in ways that improve academic performance, develop positive attitudes toward learning, improve the school environment, reduce the dropout rate, and increase the graduation rate of students. Features of the program were instructional and direct…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was created to address the unsatisfactory learning outcomes of U.S. students, especially minority and poor students who continue to perform at significantly lower levels than their peers. The NCLB requires states, districts, and high schools to take steps to ensure that all students meet high academic…

Effective, long-term dropout prevention will not occur without broad-based, indepth, and ongoing staff development that changes educators' behavior toward at-risk students. Staff development planners should recognize that students respond not to programs but to individualized, personally delivered solutions and assistance promoting youngsters'…

A one-semester, credit-bearing course for parents of Wichita State University freshmen improves retention because parents can help freshmen adjust to the university environment. The course provides information about the institution through monthly articles and cassette audiotapes. Parents receive identification cards and parking decals and may…

This paper provides an account of findings, pertinent to vocational education and training, of the Victorian evaluation of the Commonwealth-funded Full Service Schools Program. This program was designed for students "at risk" of leaving school early and not making a successful transition into further education and training or employment.…

Many young Canadians drop out of school because they cannot cope with the information demand imposed upon them by school learning. A study was conducted to help at-risk students to enhance their metacognitive skills through cognitive augmentation and transfer training. All teachers involved in the project were interviewed by an external evaluator…

The nation's dropout problem has been making national headlines with more and more frequency and more and more urgency. Although certainly not a new problem, the failure to earn a high school diploma is receiving heightened attention because the causes and effects of dropping out have changed significantly. No longer is a dropout simply a young…

START was a dropout prevention project funded by Alberta Education and Alberta/NWT Region Human Resources Development Canada, successor to Employment and Immigration Canada. START addressed dropout prevention through a variety of school and community initiatives primarily targeting students in the junior high school years. In the 1993-94 school…

The School District of the City of Saginaw (Michigan) has annually reported on the rate and nature of the dropout population; this dropout report is the fourth edition of the State defined generation of dropout reports. Two hundred twenty-four, or 8% of Saginaw's 2,805 students in grades 9-12, voluntarily terminated their high school education…

Project RETAIN (Retention in Education Technical Assistance and Information Network) is a Florida project that assists school districts through identification and dissemination of effective practices that keep students with mild disabilities in school. One part of the project examined dropout rates from Florida's 67 school districts and their…

The dropout problem in the United States is explored; and some suggestions for reducing the dropout rate are offered for parents, teachers, and principals. Several indicators have been recognized as placing a student at risk of dropping out of school. Dimensions of alienation have also been identified, as have social factors that contribute,…

This evaluation of the 1989-90 Bilingual Resource Instruction for the Development of Gainful Employment Skills (Project BRIDGES) in New York City found that the program met most of its objectives. Project BRIDGES, funded under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, provides the following services to at-risk…

Project Dropout Reduction through Employment, Achievement, and Motivation (DREAM) provided 445 Spanish-speaking limited-English-proficient students with English-as-a-second-language (ESL), Native Language Arts (NLA), and bilingual content area courses at South Bronx High School (New York) during the 1989-90 school year. Project DREAM met its…

This document, a two-volume report, provides in volume 1 the final longitudinal evaluation of the New York City Dropout Prevention Initiative (DPI), 1985-86 through 1987-88. (The second volume comprises appendices containing summaries of each previous evaluation for this time period.) The DPI was implemented in 13 high schools and 29 feeder middle…