This monograph reviews pertinent research and issues concerning grade retention in an effort to understand the implications for retention and promotion policies, especially in elementary schools. The monograph discusses 11 topics, including: (1) the historical context of retention and promotion; (2) the link between grade retention and dropouts;…

This study attempted to determine the effect of a self-development seminar on the learning of 27 randomly selected college freshmen as measured by grade point averages (GPA), academic units completed, and retention rate (the percentage of students returning for a second term) for one semester beginning fall 1977. Both experimental and control…

Twenty college students from American Indian, Chicano, Anglo and Black ethnic backgrounds were recruited to work in the Cross-Age Peer Relationship Project. They became involved in a program of educational remediation and facilitation for junior high age youth from similar backgrounds. Each counselor trainee was assigned a junior high school in…

Discusses successful strategies for preventing Black students from leaving school before graduation. Argues that the best solution to this complex problem is to ensure that Black children learn the necessary academic and cognitive skills in school before proceeding to the next grade level. (FMW)

The Children At Risk program was created in Wisconsin in 1985 with the broad goal of reducing the number of students at risk of failing in or dropping out of school. The program requires all school districts to identify children at risk, including dropouts, truants, parents, or adjudicated delinquents, who are behind their age group in either…

A discussion of the transition from high school to college outlines three principles of program planning for this group: helping first-year students see college as the beginning of a discovery process; exposing them to intellectual issues and experiences; and helping them accept responsibility for their own future. (MSE)

Evaluates tutorial program and a combined tutorial and counseling program. Effects on achievement, self-esteem, and classroom behavior of middle school students (N=135) at risk of dropping out are examined. Discussion includes implications for counselors. "Outline for Training Tutors" and example plans for group-counseling sessions are appended.…

This report summarizes short-term impacts of the Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP) demonstration, which helped at-risk high school-age youth graduate and enroll in postsecondary education or training. QOP involved intensive case management and mentoring emphasizing after school supplemental academic education, developmental activities, and…

The adult basic education (ABE) program offered by the Saginaw City School System in Michigan during the 1994-1995 school year was evaluated in a study that focused on 10 aspects of the instructional process (various aspects of the content, delivery, and management of instruction) and the products (outcomes) of instruction (student enrollment,…

The Ninth Grade Restructuring Program of the Detroit (Michigan) public schools was designed to restructure the ninth grade in ways that improve academic performance, develop positive attitudes toward learning, improve the school environment, reduce the dropout rate, and increase the graduation rate of students. Features of the program were…

The Center for Urban Research in Education (CURE), jointly conceived by the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools and Portland State University, was established in 1987 by the Oregon State Legislature to explore solutions to the educational problems of at-risk student populations, especially those in urban settings. This paper shares the results of…

The Part-Time Jobs portion of the Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (AIDP) Program in New York City provided job-readiness training and job placements in an effort to motivate students to improve academic achievement and school attendance. Programs were implemented at schools with a student attendance rate at or below the citywide median…

Career Advancement through Bilingual Educational Skills (Project CABES) completed the second year of a 3-year funding cycle at Seward Park High School on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Project CABES serves 233 recently immigrated, predominantly low-income, ninth through twelfth grade, Hispanic students of limited English proficiency (LEP). Included…

The topics of this speech concern educational equity, excellence, dropout, and reform issues for the purpose of securing adequate public school funding. The address pleads for broader public support to increase school funding; political support for the legislative changes necessary to ensure equity and excellence; and public participation in the…

A 3-year longitudinal study of Puerto Rican youth (who were tenth graders during the first year of the study) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sought to identify determinants of decisions to remain in school or drop out, and to investigate delinquency among this population. Among girls, the study found no correlation between delinquency and dropping…