As the second phase of a three-phase study of why students leave Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and why others remain, this research focuses on three questions: (1) what were the reasons for discontinuing studies at MATC? (2) what were the overall perceptions of the 269 leavers in 1989 regarding institutional and student services? and (3)…

This paper attempts to refute current emphases on supposedly increased numbers of "students at risk." It is claimed that such terminology usually includes students who drop out, who become teenage mothers, or who are illiterate. Data are presented in tabular form demonstrating that all three of these "risk behaviors" are at their lowest in…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the Center on Education and Training for Employment (CETE) at Ohio State University worked with six schools (two comprehensive high schools, two high schools served by an area vocational center, an area vocational center, and a junior high school) in the SREB region to keep potential dropouts in…

This manual provides a framework for formulating a game plan for retention of students in vocational training. The information is based on possible conflicts the students may encounter that would hinder the completion of vocational programs. The conflicts are categorized into personal conflicts, school-related conflicts, and other situations.…

This report presents data from 25 school districts in Connecticut that were involved in dropout prevention planning programs in grades kindergarten through twelfth for the 1987-88 and 1988-89 school years. Each of these districts addresses the problems of both accounting for the dropout rate, and developing an effective and reliable method for the…

Research suggests that the high school dropout rate can be reduced through improved educational programming, especially in vocational education. Several studies have found that when students with similar backgrounds are compared, those who participate in vocational education are more likely to graduate. To determine why students drop out, Weber…

This study was conducted to explore the economic and programmatic implications of school-year program attrition in secondary vocational programs in New Hampshire. The study included students who switched to other vocational programs as well as those who switched to a general academic or a college preparatory curriculum. Interviews were conducted,…

This study investigates factors contributing to dropping out and returning to school among urban high school students. The analysis is a preliminary attempt to determine whether state or local responses are more viable in preventing high-risk students from leaving school early, and the extent to which school practices and policies may influence…

A Minnesota study examined the secondary school dropout problem from the perspective of both the education system and the employment/training system. Findings from a pilot study involving 24 public secondary schools and the 24 counterpart Comprehensive Employment and Training Act agencies were compared with information from national and state…

The Street Academies discussed in this evaluation report are considered to represent outstanding attempts to develop positive culturally different instructional models, rather than the compensatory deficit disadvantaged models that are utilized by regular school programs. Seven chapters discuss the background of the Academies, purposes and…

A survey of a sample of aid recipients at the University of Nebraska at Omaha showed that over 50 percent of those receiving only loans do not finish the semester. Grants in combination with loans had a slightly positive effect on persistence. (MSE)

Student departure is a long-standing problem to colleges and universities. Approximately 45 percent of students enrolled in two-year colleges depart during their first year, and approximately one out of four students departs from a four-year college or university. The authors advance a serious revision of Tinto's popular interactionalist theory to…

Reports on a study of 14,249 students to determine whether participation in specific extracurricular activities (athletics and fine arts) significantly reduces a student's likelihood of dropping out. Finds that, when all activities are examined, only athletic participation remains significantly related to dropping out. (ACM)

Describes the creation of the cooperation, investigation, literacy, and community (CILC) model within a holistic educational project in Acre, a Jewish-Arab mixed city in northern Israel, focusing on the implementation of cooperative learning at the schools and the work of the dropout investigative task force which was created to build community in…

The achievement gap, traditionally measured by test scores, also can be documented by dropout behavior. Examining dropout behavior among Black, White, and Hispanic students, with a particular focus on gaps within groups and not just between Whites and minorities, shows a clearer picture of the achievement gap. The results of our study show…