Too many students are falling through the cracks of our educational system and dropping out of school. A program called Extended-Day School (EDS) was implemented in Franklin County, Tennessee, to help high school students with specific subjects. EDS sought to deal with several problems of at-risk students: fewer study aids, little parent…

The Sioux City Community Schools Office of Indian Education provides American Indian students with tutoring services through funds from Title V, Part C of the Indian Education Act of 1988 and the Johnson-O'Malley programs. The goal is to reduce the high dropout rate among Indian youth. This tutor handbook contains introductory information for the…

This paper examines available information on early identification of students at risk of prematurely dropping out of school. Many factors such as drug use, lowered educational achievement, delinquency, and unemployment appear to be consequences of dropping out, yet cause and effect is often difficult to define. A variety of school related,…

This paper results from the collaborative work of Research for Better Schools, Inc., with the state staffs of Pennsylvania and Maryland on the problem of students at risk. It highlights the ways in which the problem is being defined, the data sets that are being used to suggest the magnitude of the problem, and the studies that are being used to…

In light of the fact that students at risk of dropping out of school have become the focus of national attention, this paper examines one alternative program designed to work with a population considered to be at very high risk for dropping out. The population served by the School-Community Guidance Center (SCGC) in the Austin (Texas) Independent…

The Job Training Partnership Act (JPTA) Title-B mandates that some of its monies be used for remediation of basic skills and places new emphasis on literacy. The act also requires that a system be developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the remediation program. In West Virginia the summer implementation program for JPTA eligible students that…

Across Canada almost 40 percent of youth drop out and do not finish high school. Young people feel they can drop out of school and find a job tomorrow that will pay them enough so they can continue the lifestyle to which they are accustomed. However, unemployment rates for individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 are high. There are people who…

Student retention continues to be an important concern among college and university officials; many programs have been implemented at postsecondary institutions to improve student retention, especially that of minority students. This paper examines the theory and practice of program evaluation in retention-focused programs. Program evaluations…

Dramatic increases in the dropout rate, particularly among classified behavior disordered children, coupled with a decline in an Occupational Education enrollment project led to the creation of a "failure identity" for individuals and a loss of human resources to the national work force. The need to address this problem was the stimulus for…

In light of the theory that student absenteeism and lack of motivation are intertwined, educators have begun to investigate the theories of motivation in order to apply them to creative attendance policies in an attempt to reduce the problem of student absenteeism. Motivational theories indicate common elements of the importance of the intrinsic…

The use of computer conferencing (CC) to support undergraduate distance learners will, presumably, lower attrition rates for distance learners by providing students with the ability to exchange ideas and develop insights with others, overcoming the intellectual and social isolation associated with correspondence courses. It will be years before…

This paper proposes a longitudinal study of Eastern Massachusetts secondary students from two culturally diverse locations beginning in the fall of 1986 and ending with their high school graduations in 1991 and 1992. After discussing dropout prevention strategies, the paper offers the following justification for the study: By following these…

The realities of the changing economy include social as well as political polarization of socio-economically diverse groups. The roles and issues of disadvantaged persons in the work place and in national economic schemes are the subject of growing interest among economic planners, politicians, educators, and human resource development…

Analysis of data from four courses shows that (1) female open learning students complete their courses more often than male counterparts, (2) open learning students who register at certain campuses complete their courses more often than students who register at others, and (3) students who complete and return assigned questionnaires are more…

Describes a conference to consider the features of successful dropout prevention, including support for public awareness of efforts to prevent dropping out. Recommends mentoring, student assessment, gainful employment, incentives, and caring. Includes remarks from and descriptions of presentations. (DHP)