This report includes findings regarding demographic characteristics and academic outcomes of Twilight program students; highlights emerging topics from the student, teacher, and staff surveys; and provides recommendations for future program implementation.

Previous research strongly suggests that beliefs regarding the nature of ability and the payoff to effort (academic mindsets) and the related actions (academic behaviors) play an important role in supporting student success. Not much is known about the distribution of these beliefs among teachers and students in different academic contexts. This…

Diplomas Now is a partnership of three national organizations--Talent Development Secondary, City Year, and Communities In Schools--collaborating in an effort to transform urban secondary schools so that fewer students drop out and more graduate ready for postsecondary education and work. With the goal of a continuous system of support through…

The purpose of this compendium is to catalog NCER's and NCSER's contributions to social-behavioral research. Research undertaken as part of these projects is contributing to a knowledge base that ultimately aims to improve academic outcomes for students via improvements in students' social-behavioral competencies, teachers' practices, and the…

With the emergence of the Democratic South Africa, a number of disciplinary problems emerged. One of these problems is truancy of school children from schools. The South African Schools Act (1996, p. 6) provides that if a learner who is subject to "compulsory attendance" fails to attend a school, the HODS (heads of departments) may take…

Regular school attendance is a key contributor toward student success. Lack of attendance by its very nature removes the student from time on learning that is essential for academic success (Estridge, 2009). The reality is an absence, whether it is excused or not, means that a child is not in benefiting from educational opportunities on that day.…

Too many freshmen students remain mired in the ninth grade, presenting a growing problem for America's secondary schools as they struggle to improve high school completion rates. In an effort to stem the tide of high school dropouts, a southeast Texas suburban school district with five comprehensive high schools engaged in a systemic reform effort…

This report assesses the first year of a school achievement program in Lowell, Massachusetts (Lowell Achievement Program, LAP). The program targeted seventh and eighth grade students who were at risk for dropping out of school. The main goals of the program were to identify these students and to stimulate them to participate in their own learning…

Interviews with 44 dropout youth with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, or mild mental retardation found that educators and administrators need to change their attitudes toward and treatment of these youth, that the youth themselves need to change their attitudes and behavior, and that there needs to be more support from teachers and…

This paper describes a dropout prevention, residential summer program on university campuses in Arkansas. The Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) progam began in 1988 at Henderson State University and by 1990 five Arkansas universities hosted programs. Funds for the program are provided through state agencies, the universities, vocational funds,…

Investigates Mexican-American elementary-age children with older siblings who were either high school dropouts or persisters. Results indicate that siblings of dropouts had lower expectations of completing high school and had more absences than did siblings of persisters. Recommends that schools use absenteeism and expectancy in identifying…

This study reports students' perceptions of their school's curriculum, support services, attendance policies, and social-learning climate. The study analyzed the interview responses of a sample of 236 students, administrators, teachers, and counselors at 6 Florida high schools representing a range of graduation rates. The following general…

The Reach-Out Program served as an enriched guidance service for potential dropouts. It sought, by closer contact with the home, to improve pupil attitude, attendance, punctuality, and reading competence and to make pupils and parents aware of those services available in school and community that would facilitate learning and maturity. The program…

The purpose of this program, funded under Title I of 1965 Elementary Secondary Act, is to send paraprofessional workers who are familiar with the community into the homes of high school students who show serious problems in school attendance, adjustment, or achievement. The objective is to establish rapport between the school and the parents in…

Project Achieve Transition Services (PATS) is a four-year high school attendance improvement, dropout prevention project which targets late-entry students consisting primarily of immigrants, transfers, and long-term absentees. The program uses a case management approach to provide support services, instructional enhancements, and family outreach…