In order to reduce the 35-40% dropout/failure rate in chemistry classes at the Perkinston Campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College, this study sought predictors which would provide early identification of students in need of special or additional help. Using regression analysis, data accumulated from the achievement records of students over…

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between selected factors and voluntary attrition occurring during the freshman year at Montgomery College (Maryland) in the 1969-70 academic year. The study sample was 952 of the 1748 freshmen: 476 students that had voluntarily terminated attendance at college prior to beginning their second…

The objective of the Benjamin Franklin Urban League Street Academy, funded under Title I of the Elementary Secondary Education Act of 1965, is to help students to stay in school or to help dropouts to return to school, or enter the world of work prepared and motivated to adjust and achieve satisfactorily. The major evaluation objectives of this…

Computer Assisted Instruciton (CAI) helps schools meet the challenge of student dropouts. CAI provides individualized instruction, a positive learning experience, and immediate feedback. Black students at Chicago's Williams Elementary School have gained in reading and math. CAI projects in Louisville, Kentucky, and Baltimore have improved academic…

This paper describes and examines the effectiveness of a project undertaken by Florida's Palm Beach County school system to provide community based support services and to facilitate a community-school partnership in order to enhance the educational achievement of immigrant students, specifically those with limited English proficiency. The project…

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of an alternative-school program. The research compared 1 year of the program, where there was no parental involvement, with a second year, which included family-based interventions. It was hypothesized that family involvement would generate greater improvement in students' psychosocial functioning, academic…

A study applied path analysis methods, using new techniques of causal analysis, to the problem of predicting the achievement, dropout rate, and satisfaction of university students. Besides providing explanations, the technique indicates possible remedial measures. (MSE)

The effectiveness of a mentoring program for 53 at-risk college students was investigated. The results indicated that the mentoring intervention had a positive impact on retention and grade point averages for this student cohort. (EV)

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Graduate Scholars Program for minority students is supported by systems that create a social-psychological "comfort zone" for participating graduate students. The program encourages interdisciplinary cooperation and a balance between the disparate concerns and perspectives of the student and…

The Durham Public Schools Communities in Schools (CIS) Academy provides a student-centered environment that encourages high-risk students to remain in school and get back on track for graduation. Program operations began in January 1995. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the first semester of operations (the second semester of…

This project described methods of early identification and implementation of various interventions used to increase achievement of students at risk in grades three, four, and five at John D. Floyd Elementary School in Spring Hill, Florida. The 51 children who qualified for and were enrolled in the dropout prevention program had achievement scores…

First-year outcomes of the 1990-91 Project Achieve in 32 New York City public high schools are presented in this paper. Project goals are to improve student performance outcomes and to increase successful school completions. Methodology involved analysis of quantitative data from all participating 32 high schools and central data files. Findings…

Since 1980, at least 8 states and more than 200 localities have developed programs that deliver a variety of health, social, and education services at or near schools. Many of the students served by these programs are at risk of failing in school or dropping out. These comprehensive school-linked programs are attempting to improve the educational…

These symposium papers describe the Fresh Start Minischool, a high school dropout prevention program in Washington, DC. The first paper, by Marcia McBeath, describes the program participants and the quantitative results of a 3-year study of the program. Data are presented on selection procedures, yearly group compositions, measures of self-esteem,…

This paper summarizes reports of various Ohio committees and offices that have studied attendance and dropout problems and have developed strategies and recommendations for dealing with them. Those strategies and recommendations are provided along with the following: (1) a statement of the problem and its scope; (2) a list of roles and…