Ninth grade poses unique academic, physical, social, and emotional challenges to students; in fact, it may be the defining year for predicting high school success. It could also be the last chance to catch pupils who are in danger of dropping out of school. The Freshman Center program attempts to give ninth graders the opportunity to succeed. This…

In an effort to determine how student support services are meeting the needs of underprepared and part-time students, and assisting in efforts to increase program completion rates, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges conducted telephone interviews with support service personnel in six large urban community college districts (i.e., in…

The conference summarized here brought together participants from 12 public school districts and 34 observers from government agencies, foundations and community organizations. The attendees addressed the concern that the reform agenda of American public schooling is insufficiently sensitive to needy children who have dropped out of school or who…

The ALANA (Asian, Latin, African, and Native American) Mentoring Program was established at Saint Clair County Community College, in Port Huron, Michigan, to address the identity issues facing ALANA freshmen through peer mentoring. Mentors provide social and academic support, support students in thinking critically and role playing, and directly…

Our nation's youth dropout rate, while consistent for almost 20 years, has increasingly become a major educational and societal problem. This summary of a longer sourcebook provides an overview of various strategies and initiatives for groups, schools, businesses, and communities to consider in addressing their dropout problems, and describes a…

The introductory material to this student retention manual focuses on the legal responsibility of Florida community colleges with regard to retention, and on data collection for program planning, factors that affect retention, accountability, and the essentials of a retention program. The remainder of the manual is presented as a checklist of…

The report describes the first year of development and present operation of the Career Intern Program (CIP), a component of the Urban Career Education Center's alternative school for high school dropouts and potential dropouts. The purpose of the program, operated by the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America under a contract from the…

This second interim report presents evaluation results from Project Youth Experiencing Success (YES) and documents a decrease in the Virginia statewide event-dropout rate in grades 7 through 12 from 4.8 percent during the 1988-89 school year to 3.3 percent during the 1991-92 year. Event-dropout rates measure the proportion of students who drop out…

An Idaho task force of Hispanic Americans, industry representatives, and education leaders studied the reasons Hispanic students were not enrolling in and completing vocational education programs. The task force sponsored a series of community meetings to identify reasons and solutions. Approximately 40-60 parents, students, and other interested…

Retention research and action programs are reviewed, and findings from the 1979 national survey entitled "What Works in Student Retention" (WWISR) are examined. The WWISR survey was designed to identify, analyze, and compile information about campus efforts to improve student retention in higher education. Questionnaires on retention were analyzed…

The need to examine college student attrition as an approach to the expected demographic decline in the 1980s, and case studies that demonstrate retention improvement and successful techniques are considered. Information is presented on the progress of typical freshmen (graduates, transfers, and dropouts) and patterns of interrupting studies.…

Participants in this survey were 33 countries from various continents, all members of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. In the document, education wastage in the elementary school is divided into 3 main components: (1) nonattendance, (2) repetition of grade, and (3) withdrawal from the school cycle. Year-grade…

This paper reviews research related to effective secondary school programs aimed at dropout prevention and increasing college enrollment rates for at-risk Latino youth. The review identifies programs that have demonstrated a significant impact on dropout rates, college attendance, school performance, or related outcomes in rigorous evaluations;…

Research and statistical data in this study identify factors that are correlated with early identification of potential dropout students. Chapter 1, the introduction, explains the study's focus: school areas that propagate attendance problems, family educational levels, social deviance, and academic achievement. One hundred students who had…

This bibliography update contains information on dropout attitudes, prevention, programs, rates, and research, as well as school-holding power at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Citations include conference papers, program descriptions, research reports, and statistical materials. Materials for inclusion in this bibliography were located…