Studies social personality types and assesses the relationship of Holland's secondary construct of consistency to persistence in college and academic achievement. Results indicated that, for both persisters and nonpersisters in college, subjects with higher levels of consistency achieve higher college grade point averages than subjects with lower…

The ASPIRA Association, an organization serving Latino youth through leadership development, education, and advocacy, is sponsoring the Hispanic Community Mobilization for Dropout Prevention, a project focused on increasing parental and community involvement in promoting high school retention and academic achievement. (SK)

Because families and communities often fail to meet adolescents' need to belong to a productive, functional organization, schools are increasingly fulfilling this role. Membership depends on social bonding, which has four elements: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Principals can remove impediments to membership by fostering a sense…

Shortly after Amityville (New York) High School teachers introduced the learning style concept, their classes began to experiment with alternative groupings, varied instructional strategies, and individualized response activities. Student achievement gains were easily estimated, but gains in self-esteem are immeasurable. (MLH)

The concept of school engagement has attracted increasing attention as representing a possible antidote to declining academic motivation and achievement. Engagement is presumed to be malleable, responsive to contextual features, and amenable to environmental change. Researchers describe behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement and recommend…

Mexican descent students leave school before completions at a much higher rate than other ethnic groups. Marginalization is one contributing factor. Thirty-two Mexican descent students were interviewed with two main objectives: What marginalization factors did they experience in their secondary schools? What factors allowed them to overcome…

This paper presents the findings of the 2008 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). This year, CCSSE zeroes in on high expectations and high support as it presents the results of its 2008 survey. Both are critical to student success: Students do best when expectations are high "and" they receive support that helps them achieve at…

Every day, an estimated 2,500 students across the nation drop out of high school. In the last decade, approximately 30 percent of students who enrolled in high school have failed to graduate four years later. The situation is even more dismal for youth of color. In 2003, only 55 percent of African Americans and 53 percent of Hispanics graduated…

The concept of systemic school change as a comprehensive approach to raising academic achievement and preventing school dropouts in Massachusetts is summarized in this report. Following a description of systemic school change, reasons for adopting a systemic change approach are offered. Nine princples of systemic school change are provided,…

The report summarizes the evaluation of the 1985-86 Special Education Attendance Improvement/Dropout Prevention and Dropout Prevention (AIDP/DPP) programs which operated at 45 sites in New York City. City tax-levy DPP funds were allocated during the 1985-86 school year to the Division of Special Education to expand existing state-funded services…

YOUTHS FROM "UNDER-PRIVILEGED" AREAS IN BOSTON HAVE DEFICIENCIES IN THE BASIC ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES WHICH PREVENT SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS AND MAY RESULT IN SCHOOL DROUPOUTS. THIS PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED BY FIVE JESUIT SCHOLASTICS TO FIFTY BOYS ENTERING NINTH GRADE, AND WILL LAST FOUR WEEKS. GROUPING WILL BE ACCORDING TO THE CALIFORNIA BATTERY…

In the later part of school year 1973-74, both of the district's junior high schools surveyed their respective seventh grade student rosters to identify those boys and girls who were overaged for the grade. The junior highs formed committees composed of administrators, counselors, and the school psychologist to review and make a recommeendation…

This report discusses performance contracting as one means of implementing educational accountability. It describes the planning for and main features of the Dallas, Texas, performance contract -- the Guaranteed Student Performance in Education and Training Program that uses a multifaceted approach to remove math, reading, and motivation…

In this study, the author examines the effects of various decisions on the cost of education in school districts that have many remedial students. As the focal point of the investigation, a junior high school population (grades 7-9) was selected. The junior high years represent a critical period in the education of remedial students -- those with…

Florida finds an effective combination for attacking the dropout problem. (Editor)