In the context of cross-sectional surveys, the scope of research on the impact of response enhancing strategies on sample composition and nonresponse bias is vast. This topic has rarely been addressed for panel studies, however, although these are becoming an increasingly important data source in social research. In this article, we evaluate the…

As teacher professional development research includes more experimental designs, new challenges arise. We examine the threat of participant attrition as an example of the types of problems researchers face. Counter-intuitively, higher levels of recruitment effort were related to higher dropout rates among teachers. We also found that teachers left…

In a study of economically disadvantaged college freshmen it was found that the only significant differentiating factor between them and the average student was grades. (JD)

The retention of older respondents in a longitudinal study is of important concern to data quality and representativeness of the target population. Participant non-response has been considered a more serious problem among older persons than among younger ones, since dropouts in longitudinal studies of older adults have been reported to be less…

Veterinary student attrition has declined from 14 percent in 1963 to 3.1 percent in 1974. The current attrition rate for academic reasons is ascertained and theoretical bases are explored. Also presented are some attrition data from allied professions. (LBH)

A two-year study assessed the progress of 119 females and 368 males who declared premedicine as their major during their freshman and sophomore years at the University of Iowa. Data from follow-up questionnaires indicate that a similar number of men and women planned to apply to medical schools, contrary to expectations. (LBH)

Comparable groups of undergraduate students, withdrawers and persisters, were surveyed and compared in terms of their self-perceived parental expectations of academic success. Students who entered college directly from high school reported greater parental expectations of success than transfer students. Withdrawers reported less parental…

The relationships among grade, substance assessed, and type of measurement and statistical analysis used in the detection of external validity threats resulting from subject attrition in a modal follow-up study were examined in 6 successive 2-year panels of adolescents, including 4,819 overall stayers and 1,897 dropouts. (SLD)

A strategy proposed by T. Cook and D. Campbell (1979) was used to investigate attrition in a community-based literacy program, focusing on 287 Head Start families. Data revealed interactions among intervention program-centered characteristics and person-centered characteristics that have implications for study validity and generalizability.…

Arguing that reliable and valid dropout rate estimates are prerequisite to establishment of causal factors and intervention programs, this article examines differences in definitions of dropouts, computational methods, and the complexities in defining cohorts, as well as the importance of sample attrition. Several sources of error are discussed.…

A nine-year summary of the academic performance of "high-risk" students at the University of Pittsburgh is presented. The subjects investigated were 1,770 students who entered the University-Community Educational Programs (U-CEP) from 1968 to 1976. The report focused on the following areas: student academic backgrounds; student…

A study was conducted of experimental mortality (subjects' drop-out) in counter-attitudinal advocacy research, a line of research that explores the extent to which people can be induced to persuade themselves to a new attitude. Subjects were 54 volunteers from undergraduate speech classes. The study involved three stages: a pretest for attitude,…

A study with follow-up interviews of services for homeless and mentally ill persons (original sample of 163) had a very high success rate of over 70% in tracking this difficult to locate population. Techniques for locating clients are presented, as identified by a focus group of five researchers. (SLD)

This is the second year report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). This program, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The maximum voucher amount in 2007-08 was $6,607, and approximately 20,000 children use a…

Using examples from evaluations of the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) Basic Grants Program, the ESAA Pilot Program, and the sustaining effects of compensatory education programs, school and student attrition are discussed. As in the example cases, appreciable attrition can be expected in most longitudinal studies. The possible effects of this…