Examines the relationship between teacher quality and California high school student mathematics achievement, investigating student dropout rates in conjunction with faculty characteristics. Results suggest that poverty strongly affects student achievement. A direct relationship exists between teacher experience and preparation and student…

Examined the impact of high school graduation examinations on student achievement and dropout rates using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey, controlling for prior student achievement and other student, school, and state characteristics. Graduation tests had no significant effect on 12th grade mathematics or reading…

Used data from a panel of Baltimore students to describe the long-term process of disengagement from school that leads to high school dropout. Nearly half of the study group left school without a degree. There were significant differences across sociodemographic lines involving academic, parental, and personal resources. These resources also added…

This article offers an exploration of the Asian Pacific American (APA) ethnic groups that show high rates of departure, and presents strategies and approaches to improving their persistence and graduation rates. A detailed examination of the APA population is presented to identify the subgroups that are underrepresented in higher education and who…

Late school entry prevails in many developing countries, and a brief international comparison suggests it has a general negative impact on school retention rates. Yet this widespread phenomenon has received little attention. This essay investigates late school entry in one of the larger countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Mozambique, for which data…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate differences in demographic variables and psychological variables between treatment completers and dropouts among abusive women in a treatment program for domestic violence offenders; and, (b) create a predictive model that would correctly identify women at greatest risk of dropping out…

Findings of a study that examined the relationship between school climate and student persistence are presented in this paper. Two surveys were administered to teachers and students at 10 Austin, Texas, high schools. Three factors of school climate were investigated--teachers as professionals, goals for student learning, and school discipline and…

This paper reviews the extent to which students with disabilities attending regular secondary schools were involved in vocational education, and whether students who participated in vocational education exhibited better outcomes both in school and in the first years after high school. Data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special…

Results of a study of students enrolling at Germanna Community College (GCC) between fall 1981 and fall 1986 to compare the persistence and graduation rates of transfer and occupational-technical students are presented in this document. The study was limited to full-time, first-time students with a declared major. Major findings of the study are…

This study examined three questions: (1) Are district-wide reductions in teacher-pupil ratios related to gains in reading and mathematics achievement for students in grades 4, 8, and 11? (2) Are district-wide reductions in teacher-pupil ratios related to decreases in the percentage of students who leave school between grades 8 and 12 without…

The New York state educational system must change to reduce the devastatingly high dropout rate among Hispanic, Black and American Indian students. A dropout is defined as a student who has been dropped from a school's enrollment and who has not graduated from 12th grade nor been transferred to another school. Research into the causes of dropping…

A study examined the effect on grades and dropout rates of students' videotaping their first speech in a basic speech course. Subjects, 224 students at a northwest college, were tested for communication and for speech apprehension using McCroskey's Personal Report of Communication Apprehension. All students were offered an opportunity to videotape…

This report summarizes three separate research studies stemming from a strike of secondary school teachers in metropolitan Toronto in 1975. It examines the effects of the strike on students' academic progress and achievement, as well as effects on retention rates and entry of students into the university and college. It also assesses how students'…

The effectiveness of a basic college mathematics course consisting of lecture-discussion classroom procedures and homework assignments from a traditional text was compared to the effectiveness of a course designed to combat low grade achievement and a high dropout rate by allowing for individual differences. The revised course consisted of…

Recent data in a longitudinal study are examined for insights into the retention patterns of institutions, characteristics of students who persist or drop out, and student satisfaction with the college experience. (MSE)