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…

This fourth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that for the first time the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020--if the pace of improvement from 2006 to 2010 is sustained over the next 10 years. The greatest gains have occurred for the students of color and…

For more than thirty years, Communities in Schools (CIS) has been dedicated to giving every child a chance to graduate by targeting those factors that are most likely to cause a student to drop out, and providing what it sees as the "five basics" for student achievement: (1) a caring relationship with an adult; (2) a safe place to learn…

This paper evaluates a United Kingdom pilot study designed to test whether a means-tested conditional cash transfer paid to 16- to 18-year-olds for staying in full-time education is an effective way of reducing the proportion of school dropouts. The transfer's impact is substantial: In the first year, full-time education participation rates…

Communities face powerful challenges--a high-school dropout epidemic, youth unemployment, teen pregnancy--that require powerful solutions. In a climate of increasingly constrained resources, those solutions must help communities to achieve more with less. A new kind of community collaborative--an approach that aspires to significant,…

The Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program offers secondary school students who are considered at risk of dropping out the opportunity to serve as tutors in elementary schools. By having these at-risk students serve as tutors, the program aims to improve their basic academic skills and self-esteem, with the goal of keeping them enrolled in school. The…

Despite evidence that some dropout prevention programs have positive effects, whether districts in the region are using such evidence-based programs has not been documented. To generate and share knowledge on dropout programs and policies, this report details a project to create a searchable database with information on target audiences,…

The central message of this report is that some states and school districts are raising their high school graduation rates with scalable solutions in the public schools, showing the nation they can end the high school dropout crisis. America made progress not only in suburbs and towns, but also in urban districts and in states across the South.…

The "High School Puente Program" aims to help disadvantaged students graduate from high school, become college eligible, and enroll in four-year colleges and universities. The program consists of three components: (1) a 9th- and 10th-grade college preparatory English class that incorporates Mexican-American/Latino and other multicultural…

School disengagement and dropout prevention are important areas of inquiry in today's educational environment. School counselors can have dramatic impact on student engagement and retention. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a peer helper program on disengagement and dropout. The researchers implemented a comprehensive,…

The University of West Georgia implemented a successful research-based initiative, Project DEW (Developing eCore Winners) to improve retention in its eCore courses. eCore courses are those offered through a collaborative University System of Georgia program, and includes courses required to complete the first two years of an undergraduate degree.…

The "New Century High Schools Initiative" is a program designed to improve large, under-performing high schools by transforming them into small schools with links to community organizations. "New Century High Schools" each have about 400 students; the small size is intended to foster strong relationships between students and…

"JOBSTART" is an alternative education and training program designed to improve the economic prospects of young, disadvantaged high school dropouts by increasing educational attainment and developing occupational skills. The program has four main components: (1) basic academic skills instruction with a focus on GED (General Educational…

America continues to make progress in meeting its high school dropout challenge. Leaders in education, government, nonprofits and business have awakened to the individual, social and economic costs of the dropout crisis and are working together to solve it. This year, all states, districts, and schools are required by law to calculate high school…

State Compensatory Education is a supplemental program in Texas designed to eliminate disparities in (a) student performance on assessment instruments administered under chapter 39 of the Texas Education Code (1995, amended 2007), and (b) the rates of high school completion between students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by…