Reducing absences is the most readily available strategy that high schools have for reducing the number of dropouts. A sample of approximately 2,000 students who entered three Oregon urban high schools in the Fall of 1983 or 1984 was studied in order to establish criteria for identifying students who were at-risk of not graduating. The group was…

In 1988, the United States Congress passed legislation that created the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program (SDDAP). The program provides funding for local educational agencies, community-based organizations, and educational partnerships to establish effective programs. This report, the second of two volumes, presents statistical data…

This manual was developed to provide training for professional and paraprofessional staff to support at-risk youth. The manual is organized in 14 sections that include the following topics: educational, cultural, and/or social problems; the identification process; the referral process; counseling strategies and techniques; alternative…

A cooperative effort between the Rockville Centre Free Union School District and the Far West Laboratory evaluated the implementation and outcomes of Greenhouse, an alternative high school program using the experience based career education (EBCE) curriculum. Evaluation criteria included four process objectives and the following student learning…

This practicum was conducted in a large high school for the purpose of improving grade point averages, attendance, and attitudes of student athletes at high risk with respect to eligibility to play sports. The program contained four basic components: (1) orientation; (2) implementation; (3) monitoring; and (4) evaluation. An orientation was…

The Educational Opportunity Program for At-Risk Students is a statewide initiative of the State of Indiana to expand existing programs or create new programs for at-risk students. The 57 programs improved or initiated in the 1988-89 school year most commonly included tutoring, counseling and support services, or promotion of parent/community…

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…

This report presents the findings of a survey ("Programs and Activities Using Technology To Serve Students at Risk of School Failure") of a sampling of large school districts in the United States and Canada, conducted to obtain information on the use of technology to serve students at risk of school failure for the participants in a…

Many organizations and experts in the field of mathematics education have recommended the inclusion of technology and, more specifically, computer programing within the course of study for the teaching of school mathematics. The incorporation of these recommendations with respect to the teaching of remedial mathematics poses a problem, since…

In a low-income south Texas school with primarily Mexican American students, teacher assessments of fourth-grade students' content reading ability and work habits predicted student success for that school year, as measured by grades and achievement scores. Teacher input can be critical in the early identification of students at risk of dropping…

This report examines current practices in defining, identifying, documenting, and tracking school dropouts in Ogden City School District (Utah), as well as demographic and personal characteristics of Ogden's high school dropouts. Data collection included a review of school and district records, interviews with administrators and staff, and…

The Businesses as On-Site Schools (BOSS) program was established as a dropout prevention effort combined with employability training for at-risk high school students. The setting was a vocational/educational alternative center in Florida. Businesses were contacted, and verbal intent to provide on-the-job training and an onsite mentor was…

The Student Transition and Retention Program (STAR), one of 10 federally-funded model dropout prevention programs, was created to address the high dropout rate in Santa Ana (California) public high schools. Students participating in the STAR program, complete a vocational course providing them with important job skills, and also receive support to…

This second interim report presents evaluation results from Project Youth Experiencing Success (YES) and documents a decrease in the Virginia statewide event-dropout rate in grades 7 through 12 from 4.8 percent during the 1988-89 school year to 3.3 percent during the 1991-92 year. Event-dropout rates measure the proportion of students who drop out…

Retention research and action programs are reviewed, and findings from the 1979 national survey entitled "What Works in Student Retention" (WWISR) are examined. The WWISR survey was designed to identify, analyze, and compile information about campus efforts to improve student retention in higher education. Questionnaires on retention were analyzed…