With whom does the American education system get high grades? For race and ethnicity, disparities are ever so prevalent. For socioeconomic status and family income, poor people never seem to get a fair share. For geographical location, inner city students are almost always underserved. Perhaps the one entity on which the system can boast is…

This paper is organized around three central questions: (1) What should be the primary goals of high school reform and what is the critical set of outcomes that matter for students? (2)Shat do we know about the strategies schools could use to pursue those goals? and (3) What are the implications of these strategies for the development of high…

The academic achievement of Native American students in the United States has consistently been the lowest in the nation. This study examined the school performance, involvement of Native parents in the school life of their children, and assimilation patterns of a specific group of Native Americans who have lived in Barstow, California, for at…

Data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS) are used to examine the relationship between minimum competency testing and dropout rates. Proponents of such testing have argued that minimum competency tests provide incentives for schools and students, but opponents have argued that such tests lead to a low-level basic skills…

While the number of minority students in postsecondary education has climbed since 1970, the rates of minority graduation are still too low. Factors adding to the dropout rate include: inadequate finances, poor academic preparation, low motivation, poor study habits, low basic skills, and low institutional support. This paper describes support…

This paper serves as a basic introduction to the problems associated with minority participation in postsecondary education. It focuses on those educational factors identified in the literature as having an important effect on postsecondary participation by minorities. The paper shows that the problem of minority participation is a far-reaching…

A study examined dropout data from the 1980 Census and the October 1980, 1982, 1984, and 1985 federal population surveys to assess differences in the dropout and delayed schooling rates for males and females; Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics; and various age groups from 16 to 34. Principal findings include the following: the dropout rate for all…

This speech describes Chicago State University's (CSU) model for encouraging student retention and success and the organizational changes that were necessary to implement the model during a period of fiscal constraints. A description of the institution and its context notes that CSU is a comprehensive, urban, commuter university serving a…

This testimony discusses the role that individual student grants play in reducing the dropout rate of minority college students, and presents the results of research on the effects of grants and loans on college attendance. Conclusions are based on the High School and Beyond longitudinal study, which followed representative 1980 high school…

The research analyzed data sets covering 1981-1985 enrollments, transfers, and withdrawals at two large urban high schools (called Urbana and Northern) in eastern Massachusetts and personal interviews with selected school administrators in four school districts to investigate high dropout rates among Hispanics. Findings indicated that 30% of the…

This study investigated factors influencing the drop-out rate of minority college students as compared to that of non-minority students. Data were collected via mailed questionnaire from 799 freshmen at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a residential, public research university in the Midwest. The questionnaire evaluated such factors as…

This study investigated the efficacy of noncognitive variables and academic background as a function of student ethnic group for the prediction of college grade performance and persistence. New freshmen during four consecutive fall semesters were administered the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshmen Survey. The sample included 251…

In 1990, a study was conducted at Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) to determine enrollment, withdrawal, and placement patterns in the college's floral design and marketing certificate program and to identify changes needed to strengthen the program. The program focused on the theory and practice of floral design and marketing,…

This study relates the personal characteristics, high school experiences, and college experiences of students pursuing a baccalaureate degree to the type of institution they attended and their ethnicity. Multivariate analysis was performed on data drawn from the High School and Beyond database. Summary conclusions include the following: (1)…

A follow-up study of undergraduate student attrition at Indiana University is presented. It builds upon previous research on student attrition documenting high rates of attrition among Black and Hispanic undergraduates. It also builds upon the Conceptual Model of Black Student Attrition. One goal is to compare persisters and non-persisters within…