This case study describes a 2-year (1988-90) demonstration dropout prevention program, a collaboration between a rural school and a university. The dropout prevention program attempts to identify effective teaching strategies that will increase the academic successes of at-risk sixth-grade students and expand the use of those strategies among the…

This paper presents an analysis of a California state mandated effort to reduce dropout rates. In particular, the analysis looks at which program components and strategies are successful in increasing school holding power and what organizational and administrative factors are linked to the decision to actually implement the program as designed.…

Louisiana Tech University conducted a program to reduce drop-out probabilities for at-risk special needs adolescents as part of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Eighty-six students between the ages of 14 and 16 were chosen as "at-risk" based on economic disadvantage, lower academic performance, behavioral and adjustment problems,…

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of at-risk students and review certain circumstances that affect their decisions to leave or stay in school. Mail survey responses were collected from 272 students (out of a total of 300) in 15 rural Tennessee high schools. The subjects were identified by their guidance counselors as being…

The Northeast Louisiana University (NLU) Dropout Intervention Strategy Program (1990-1991) was designed to train administrators and teachers in junior high schools to recognize, treat, and relate to at-risk students who have been identified as potential school dropouts. The 13 participating schools were identified as having potentially high…

A study examined the differences between the experiences and beliefs about school held by young adolescents identified as potential dropouts and those held by their more successful peers. The study was conducted at a larger, urban junior high school with an ethnic composition of 47% Orientals, 31% Whites, 16% Hispanics, 6% Blacks and .3% Native…

Recent census figures indicate that, compared to all races and ethnic groups, Hispanic students had the lowest rate of graduation from high school. This article explores possible predictors of dropout among Hispanic youth by comparing the Hispanic youth who dropped out of school between the 8th and 10th grade with those who continued. Data for the…

This document describes a study that examined several factors to determine their influence on student social bonding to school, to peers, and to teachers. The study focused on factors related to students' personal and social backgrounds, school organization, and students' relationships with teachers and peers. Specifically, the researchers sought…

A model was developed at Arizona State University (ASU) to simulate the effect of President Reagan's proposed 1983 cuts in student financial aid in terms of programs and student credit hour load. The model allows administrators to simulate the impact on various student groups. The analysis involved 3,141 full-time undergraduates with financial aid…

Ohio's Occupational Work Adjustment (OWA) program is a one- to two-year ungraded vocational program for fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds who have been identified as potential dropouts from the regular educational program. Begun on a pilot basis in 1967, OWA served over 80,000 students in 499 programs during the 1981-82 school year. The goal of OWA,…

Concern for the dropout phenomenon among secondary learning disabled (LD) students led to a preliminary study of an urban school's decision-making structures, as well as events that influence ninth graders' behavior and decisions, increasing their risk for dropping out of high school. Data were collected from three sources: observation of school…

Ninth grade poses unique academic, physical, social, and emotional challenges to students; in fact, it may be the defining year for predicting high school success. It could also be the last chance to catch pupils who are in danger of dropping out of school. The Freshman Center program attempts to give ninth graders the opportunity to succeed. This…

This document provides information on the Jones Center Vocational/Academic Program of the Granite School District (Utah), the purpose of which is to maintain or reintegrate students who are potential high school dropouts or dropouts into appropriate educational alternatives. Its mission statement is followed by a list of program components,…

Students failing to master minimum competency tests are categorized as dropouts in this description of the results of and remediation efforts for the statewide Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) Testing Program. TEAMS assesses minimum competency in basic skills at grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11-12 exit level. The first…

A study examined the cognitive development of at-risk students (those who have experienced difficulty or failure in their careers as learners), focusing on such groups as potential drop-outs, minority children, and disabled students (dsylexic or non-English speaking), as well as teaching thinking to this same student population. Although research…