This report focuses on pathways to postsecondary education (PSE), including high school completion, for pregnant and parenting teens. Although birth rates among teens have declined in the United States over the last 20 years, one in seven adolescent females (14.4 percent) is expected to give birth before age 20 with females of color (24 percent of…

The construct of student engagement is increasingly prevalent in the field of education, serving as the foundation of dropout prevention and high school reform initiatives. The purpose of this study was to further examine 1 measure of student engagement, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), designed to measure 2 subtypes of student engagement:…

Every year 1.3 million U.S. high school students drop out of school with one quarter of female students failing to graduate on time. Female dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, to earn less when they are employed, to become pregnant before the age of 20, to become obese, to smoke, and to drink more heavily than their male counterparts. This…

When this research report was first conceived, the current economic crisis was only just on the verge of revealing its full extent. Economic crisis or no economic crisis, over the years funding for PK-12 education has been a constant struggle. While all schools continue to face difficulties, for various reasons rural schools have different and…

A developing concern in Minnesota for the fact that a greater percentage of special needs students than non-special needs students tends to drop out of postsecondary vocational education prompted a project to promote articulation--transition--for these students into postsecondary education. A statewide survey was conducted to determine current…

To improve Chippewa Indian retention in higher education, 277 Indian students, 7 key informants, and 11 service providers were surveyed to determine facilitating factors as well as obstacles. Of the 277 students, 125 responded to the questionnaire. The sample included former college graduates, college dropouts, and current students. Service…

A Minnesota study examined the secondary school dropout problem from the perspective of both the education system and the employment/training system. Findings from a pilot study involving 24 public secondary schools and the 24 counterpart Comprehensive Employment and Training Act agencies were compared with information from national and state…

This report summarizes the work of five Minnesota organizations that received funding on a competitive basis to develop an integrated program of education, job training, and work experience for youth who have dropped out or who are at-risk of dropping out of high school. The report contains the following: (1) a brief description of the legislative…