In this final evaluation of the America's Promise Dropout Prevention Summits, the evaluation reveals that the Summits not only served as the catalyst for the creation of new programs and collaborative efforts around ending the high school dropout crisis, but strengthened existing work, political and public awareness, and funding at the state,…

Maryland recently raised its compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18 in two stages: from 16 to 17 at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year and from 17 to 18 at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year (Maryland Senate Bill 362, 2012). The Maryland State Department of Education, a member of Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic's…

Maryland raised its compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18 in two stages: from 16 to 17 at the beginning of the 2014/15 school year and from 17 to 18 at the beginning of the 2016/17 school year (Maryland Senate Bill 362, 2012). The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) sought technical assistance from the Regional Educational…

"Career Academies" is a dropout prevention strategy for youth considered most at risk of dropping out of high school. Students in the program take both career-related and academic courses and acquire work experience through partnerships with local employers. "Career Academies" integrate rigorous academic curricula with career…

The State Compensatory Education (SCE) program is designed to reduce dropout rates and increase academic performance of students identified as being at-risk of dropping out of school. SCE operates as a funding source to supplement instructional services and offer academic support to students who meet the SCE at-risk criteria established by the…

A recent review of the research by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences has resulted in the recommendation of six promising practices to ensure that all students are actively engaged in school and on a path to post-secondary success (Dynarski et al. in Dropout prevention: A practice guide (NCEE 2008-4025)). The purpose…

School counselors are charged to identify potential dropouts and they work closely with students to help them stay in school or find alternative means of completing their education. Ninth grade students transitioning to high school experience insurmountable challenges as they shift from middle school to high school. Students who lack the academic…

Between 1970 and 2000, the U.S. high-school graduation stagnated while in many other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries it rose markedly. By 2000, the high school graduation rate in the United States ranked 13th among the 19 OECD countries for which comparable data are available. Evidence from two independent…

For colleges to develop effective dropout prevention strategies, it is necessary to have a clear picture of who these early dropouts are. This report identifies distinguishing characteristics of this group by analyzing six years of transcript data on 14,429 first-time college students who in 2005 and 2006 enrolled at one of five community colleges…

This article explores the connection between dropping out of school and being incarcerated, particularly for youth, including students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, students from poverty, and students with disabilities, who have been shown to be at higher risk for both. This article seeks to shift focus away from a…

State Compensatory Education (SCE) is a supplemental program designed to eliminate disparities in (1) student performance on assessment instruments administered under chapter 39 of the Texas Education Code (1995, amended 2013); and (2) the rates of high school completion between students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by…

Increasingly, school districts, schools, and their partners are incorporating technology into strategies that help engage young people who have fallen off track to on-time graduation get back on track and move into effective educational pathways. This is especially true in light of the continuing pressure to raise high school graduation rates and…

Too many students in high-poverty, urban communities drop out of high school, and too few graduate prepared for college and careers. Three national organizations--Talent Development Secondary, City Year, and Communities In Schools--have formed Diplomas Now in an effort to transform urban secondary schools so fewer students drop out and more…

"Check & Connect" aims to help students stay in school by continually monitoring school performance and providing individualized attention through mentoring, case management, and other supports. In 2006, the WWC published a systematic review of all the studies that examined the impact of "Check & Connect" on high school…

For the data presented in this report, the author analyzed 17,587 Black, Hispanic, and White male and female students (Black males; N = 1,149) who completed the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (Ingels et al., 2011). This is a brief report from a larger study completed under the auspices of the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students…