This guide is intended to be useful to educators in high schools and middle schools, to superintendents and school boards, and to state policymakers in planning and executing dropout prevention strategies. The target audience includes school administrators as well as district-level administrators, seeking to help develop practice and policy…

Guidelines for preventing school failure include: (1) recognize early signs of potential failure; (2) build student motivation; (3) utilize students' developmental paths; (4) design focused and interesting curriculum activities; and (5) select motivating management and teaching strategies. (Contains references.) (DB)

Discouraged learners are students who could succeed academically but who, for a variety of reasons, do not believe they are able to do so and fail. The article provides case studies and suggests books for further reading. It offers techniques to encourage, teach, and involve discouraged learners. (JL)

Explains how teachers and counselors can use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (a self-reporting assessment tool based on Jungian personality-type theory) to help retain high-risk students. Reviews the information MBTI scores reveal about student interest, application/persistence, aptitude, learning type, most appropriate instructional method,…

About one in four students who enter high school will not graduate. Numerous dropout-prevention programs have been implemented nationwide in the past decade to increase the high school graduation rate. This growth in programs has made it more difficult for educators to determine the effectiveness of the many alternatives. This guide is designed to…

The Teacher Alert System was designed in Alberta, Canada, for classroom teachers and school personnel concerned about the needs of "at risk" students. The guide can assist in the identification, assessment, and intervention process for children who have special needs. The student's problems may be related to learning, emotions, or…

Two groups of students at risk of not developing adequate mathematical knowledge and skills are (1) the "typical or usual" and (2) "the nominal mathematics students"--those who do not achieve at a satisfactory level in mathematics and/or do not enroll in mathematics courses beyond typical required courses. This digest provides…

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…

Discusses "Choices & Changes," a program designed to reshape the way young people think about their choices. Suggests that economic education can show students that they possess meaningful skills and knowledge and can improve both. Examines program goals, themes, outcomes, and philosophical issues. (DK)

This guide is intended to encourage South Carolina secondary vocational education administrators, teachers, and counselors to implement programs designed to keep potential dropouts in school and recover those who leave school prematurely, as well as to provide those educators with research findings relevant to such activities. Following an…

Teachers and administrators face three problems when developing programs at the local level for at-risk students: defining "at-risk" for their local district, identifying effective programs, and absorbing the costs of implementation. A six-step process for systematically addressing these problems would urge the schools to: (1) identify the at-risk…

A risk assessment instrument for identifying potential dropouts at the middle and high school levels and an accompanying explanation of the instrument are provided in this document. The instrument provides a checklist of 21 criteria; the more criteria the student meets, the greater his risk of dropping out. Criteria include age in comparison to…

This resource guide provides information on programs that serve at risk students in the Dade County (Florida) Public Schools. For each program the following information is provided: (1) description; (2) number of schools served; (3) number of students served; and (4) budget. The following types of programs are included: (1) dropout retrieval; (2)…

Faced with alarming dropout rates, educators must find ways to encourage students at risk of dropping out to remain in school. This book describes a variety of prevention programs based on partnerships between universities and local elementary and secondary schools. Among the innovative approaches were combining education and social services in…

This report presents evaluation information concerning a 1993 New York City Chapter 1 summer program's four components: Project Welcome Plus/Study Skills in Communication Arts (PWP/CA); the programs Basic Skills Academy/Comprehensive Competencies program and Auxiliary Service for High Schools Basic Skills; Basic Reading; and Project YOU. These…