The authors examined the predictive nature of attentional biases and initial grade point average of ninth graders dropping out of high school. Attentional biases are cognitive shifts in focus that are linked in both time and context toward stimuli perceived by an individual as threatening. Data were collected from 68 high school freshmen (45.6%…

One-in-five of Arizona's youth did not complete high school and a similarly large proportion of the state's youth is disconnected from either work or education. These youth face higher risks of unemployment and economic insecurity and are more reliant on government supports. This situation, which fails to ensure that the state's youth are…

Few people realize the impact that high school dropouts have on a community's economic, social, and civic health. Business owners and residents--in particular, those without school-aged children--may not be aware that they have much at stake in the success of their local high schools. Indeed, everyone--from car dealers and realtors to bank…

This paper examines the graduation/dropout crisis among American Indian and Alaska Native students using data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Data from 2005 is drawn from the seven states with the highest percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students as well as five states in the Pacific and Northwestern regions of…

During a four-week period (May 23, 2011-June 21, 2011), the Western Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) held a series of public meetings to solicit input and deliberate on key educational needs facing the four states in the region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. A two-day, face-to-face, public meeting was held May 23-24, 2011 in Arlington,…

Between 1979 and 2008, the number of school-age children (ages 5-17) in the United States who spoke a language other than English at home increased from 3.8 to 10.9 million, or from 9 to 21 percent of the population in this age range, according to the latest figures from the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES). The NCES also reveals…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…

The factors that contribute to student dropouts have been the focus of extensive deliberation during the last decade. Despite expanded attention, the number of dropouts remains unacceptably high. Drawing on the authors' 17-year history of dropout research in Texas, Arizona, and across the country, this article describes the alarming dropout rates,…

This report addresses the scope of Arizona's dropout problem and strategies for changing the situation. An introduction examines the magnitude of the problem, who is dropping out and why, costs of dropping out, what works in combating high dropout rates, what Arizona citizens and leaders can do, and what steps should be taken to reduce the dropout…

This study reports one-year dropout rates for Arizona school districts. Dropouts were counted on an 12-month basis from the end of the 1992-93 school year to the end of the 1993-94 school year. The total state enrollment covered in this study was 322,525 students in grades 7 through 12. There were 3,567 dropouts from the elementary grades (7 and…

This report presents Arizona dropout statistics for 4 academic years, 1994-98. For each year, dropout rates are reported for grades 7-12 and are based on a calendar year running from the first day of summer recess through the last day of school. Most of the report consists of data tables that provide enrollment and dropout information for…

This collection of statistics provides information on dropout rates in Arizona public schools. A dropout was defined as a student who was enrolled at the end of the 1991-92 school year or at any time during the 1992-93 school year, who was not enrolled at the end of the school year and whose absence could not be explained by transfer, graduation,…

An alternative high school is proposed to meet the needs of the substantial number of Yuma students who are dropping out of school at increasing rates. In the period from 1974 to 1978 enrollment at Yuma's 2 high schools increased by only 8% while the drop-out rate increased by 56%. Enrollment figures show that the drop-out rate is highest in grade…