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Dropout is a global crisis and an affliction in the United States. This study analyzes graduation rates based on prior academic achievement, attendance, and behavior at an urban American high school in Virginia over 4 years to identify who is (not) graduating and why. Using a correlational, nonexperimental design, four cohorts of graduates were compared. As found, Latinx male English language learners were overrepresented and had dropped out following exclusionary discipline or failure on standardized tests. Examining predictive indicators can clarify why some students do not complete on time or quit. Implications for practice, policy, research, and preparation are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase youths' risk for leaving high school before graduating. However, to our knowledge, no one has examined how youth themselves conceptualize the role of ACEs in their journeys away from school. In this exploratory qualitative study, we used narrative analysis to examine (1) whether youth (n = 27) described ACEs leading them away from school, (2) how early these trajectories began, from youth's own perspectives, and (3) if this varied by elements of identity and social position. Focus groups were conducted with youth ages 18-25 from 13 communities across the U.S. We found that youth described their journeys away from school as starting with early ACEs. We also found that youths' narratives reflected intersectional gender differences in the pathways away from school that youth described. Girls articulated how ACEs influenced subsequent non-academic priorities; they eventually left or were kicked out due to a lack of credits. Boys expressed that early ACEs were followed by risk behaviors, punishment, and dropout. Implications for healing-centered engagement across settings and targeted dropout prevention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper exploits the sharp escalation of violence in Colombia in the 1980s associated with the emergence of drug cartels to provide novel evidence on the long-run effects of violence exposure throughout the life-course, on children's educational attainment and academic achievement using administrative data. I find that, a higher homicide rate in early-childhood is associated with a higher probability of school dropout and conditional on completing high school, lower scores on a national end-of-high school exam. Results are robust to several falsification tests, and analyses of potential sources of selection bias. I provide supportive evidence that changes in fetal, child, and adolescent health outcomes are important potential mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors explore the educational response to fracking—a recent technological breakthrough in the oil and gas industry—by taking advantage of the timing of its diffusion and spatial variation in shale reserves. They show that fracking has significantly increased relative demand for less-educated male labor and increased high school dropout rates of male teens, both overall and relative to females. Estimates imply that, absent fracking, the teen male dropout rate would have been 1 percentage point lower over the period 2011–15 in the average labor market with shale reserves, implying an elasticity of school enrollment with respect to earnings below historical estimates. Fracking increased earnings and job opportunities more among young men than male teenagers, suggesting that educational decisions respond to improved earnings prospects, not just opportunity costs. Other explanations for the findings, such as changes in school quality, migration, or demographics, receive less empirical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moffitt's snares hypothesis posits that snares—such as addiction to drugs and alcohol, time spent incarcerated, unemployment, teenage parenthood, high school dropout, and disabling injuries—can trap individuals into persistent patterns of offending during periods in the lifecourse when desistance is normative. We test this hypothesis using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to examine the associations and mechanisms between snare exposure and criminal offending during young adulthood. Results indicate that snare exposure was associated with increased offending and that this was in part due to snare exposure undermining a successful transition to adulthood, harming health, and producing social disadvantage. Moreover, the association between snare exposure and offending varied for different life-course offending trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chile offers high school dropouts a chance to graduate through enrollment in Second Opportunity Centers, located in cities ranging in population from 5 million inhabitants to less than 100,000. Participants in 18 centers were classified into four distinct classes based on their family situation, handicaps, employment, experience with discrimination, and ambitions. Students were compared with respect to their satisfaction with Center activities. Students experiencing instability in their lives, more often in larger cities, were least satisfied. The most successful activity was workshops discussing psychological and social issues. Some activities failed to attract any of the four classes of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, violent male victimization has been substantially higher than females, but since the 1970s has declined toward near gender parity. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify causes or correlates for this unprecedented change. Victimization data (NCS/NCVS, 1973–2018) were combined with social, economic, behavioral, and criminal justice data from eight sources to examine longitudinal trends using time series (ARIMA) and panel data modeling. Results show that the narrowing of the gender victimization ratio was not a direct byproduct of changes in crime but was correlated with lower high school dropout rates, improved economic conditions, more women in the workforce, and increased numbers of police officers. Further research is needed to identify specific causal mechanisms related to these variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dropping out of high school creates barriers to economic self-sufficiency. Career and technical education (CTE) may help students engage with school by showing the connection between school and work. Prior research has shown that high school CTE participation promotes positive academic outcomes including high school graduation. This paper uses a quasi-experimental design to examine the association between certifications and on-time high school graduation. Our findings indicate that certifications exert a meaningful influence on the likelihood of high school graduation, and that the effect is stronger for students who are at risk for dropping out or are economically disadvantaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was a quasi experiment involving 470 school children who were survivors of abduction in Northern Nigeria. There were two interventions: the first was a face-to-face counselling, while the second was a visual multimedia counselling intervention. The result of the study showed that at baseline, all the respondents reported high school dropout propensity. However, after the treatment, respondents in the visual multimedia group reported lower school dropout propensity when compared to their counterparts in the face-to-face counselling. The researchers made recommendations based on the results of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its widespread use, school suspension is related to negative outcomes in adolescence, including delinquency and low academic attainment. However, it remains less clear how other sources of adversity affect the relationship between suspension and negative outcomes. Drawing on longitudinal data on a sample of at-risk youth, this study examines the roles of two sources of disadvantage—being a racial minority and experiencing high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—in the relationships between school suspension in childhood and arrest and high school dropout in adolescence. Results reveal that suspension increased odds of dropout and arrest regardless of race, even after accounting for high ACEs and other covariates. Among Black youth only, the impact of suspension on dropout was amplified for those with high ACE exposure. Findings shed light on the complex connections between sources of adversity and their relation to negative outcomes in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that both poverty and minority status significantly influence academic achievement. Nativity schools, which have been extensively researched, have been found effective for students coming from low socioeconomic statuses and diverse backgrounds. Differences were examined between an urban public school district and an urban parochial school that uses the Nativity model (henceforth referred to as Nativity School). The purpose of this study was to determine if students from Nativity School were able to achieve significantly above that which urban public school students achieved. Specifically, academic achievement in the areas of mathematics, language arts, and science were analyzed, as well as high school dropout rate, high school graduation rate, and entrance into postsecondary education. Nativity School used the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) to measure achievement longitudinally and reported stanines and local and national percentile ranks, while the public school system used the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) and provided four descriptor categories (i.e., Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced). Below Basic and Basic referred to students who demonstrate the skills outlined by the Missouri Show-Me Standards inconsistently and/or incorrectly, while students who perform in the Proficient and Advanced categories demonstrate these skills consistently, at or above grade level. Results revealed Nativity School students significantly improved their academic achievement scores and were more likely than urban public school students to graduate high school and enroll in postsecondary school. Interpretation and implications of these results and limitations are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed how high school dropouts in Croatia interpret their school experiences and life circumstances, using semi-structured interviews of 20 young people, M (SD) = 18.4 (1.23) years, 63.6% male, based on questions following a chronological life course from elementary to high school. Using qualitative content analysis and cluster analysis, we yielded a typology of high school dropouts. Four high school dropout types were identified based on the factors leading to dropout: (a) the poor academic achievers, (b) the quiet dropouts, (c) the maladjusted dropouts, and (d) the stressed dropouts. Our findings confirm the previously reported role of poor academic achievement and externalizing problems in high school dropout and additionally highlight the importance of internalizing problems and highly stressful life events for dropout risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context: Early warning indicators (EWI) are often used by states and districts to identify students who are not on track to finish high school, and provide supports/interventions to increase the odds the student will graduate. While EWI are diverse in terms of the academic behaviors they capture, research suggests that indicators like course failures, chronic absenteeism, and suspensions can help identify students in need of additional supports. In parallel with the expansion of administrative data that have made early versions of EWI possible, new machine learning methods have been developed. These methods are data-driven and often designed to sift through thousands of variables with the purpose of identifying the best predictors of a given outcome. While applications of machine learning techniques to identify students at-risk of high school dropout have obvious appeal, few studies consider the benefits and limitations of applying those models in an EWI context, especially as they relate to questions of fairness and equity. Focus of Study: In this study, we will provide applied examples of how machine learning can be used to support EWI selection. The purpose is to articulate the broad risks and benefits of using machine learning methods to identify students who may be at risk of dropping out. We focus on dropping out given its salience in the EWI literature, but also anticipate generating insights that will be germane to EWI used for a variety of outcomes. Research Design: We explore these issues by using several hypothetical examples of how ML techniques might be used to identify EWI. For example, we show results from decision tree algorithms used to identify predictors of dropout that use simulated data. Conclusions/Recommendations: Generally, we argue that machine learning techniques have several potential benefits in the EWI context. For example, some related methods can help create clear decision rules for which students are a dropout risk, and their predictive accuracy can be higher than for more traditional, regression-based models. At the same time, these methods often require additional statistical and data management expertise to be used appropriately. Further, the black-box nature of machine learning algorithms could invite their users to interpret results through the lens of preexisting biases about students and educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research shows that educators can identify half of future high school dropouts as early as Grade 6--and three quarters or more of future dropouts by Grade 9--by monitoring readily available data on attendance, behavior, and course performance. These data have come to be known as the ABCs of dropout prevention, and the measures are some of the more commonly used early warning indicators. Purpose: Developing and deploying an early warning indicator system (EWIS) is a complex endeavor for school districts, especially smaller districts without access to a large internal research team or experience implementing similar data-oriented initiatives at scale. In this chapter, we describe four key considerations that school districts and others should take account of when designing an EWIS: building broad consensus on the purpose of the system, planning around system design and data availability, validating indicators and setting thresholds, and implementing and monitoring the system. Research Design: This article is based on a review of the relevant literature on designing EWISs and our experiences. We have partnered with multiple districts and states in recent years and advised these organizations on early warning indicator selection, as well as system development. References to the literature are noted where applicable. The omission of references indicates that that portion of the text is based on our experiences working directly with districts and states. Conclusions/Recommendations: Developing early warning indicators--and an EWIS--is a complex technical and human undertaking, akin to implementing a large districtwide initiative at scale. Districts of any size are well served by thinking carefully about the process and going slowly, if needed, to ensure they get the details right. Planning the system and building consensus for implementation, choosing indicators that are right for the district context, and validating and setting the right thresholds for those indicators are essential for building widespread leadership, staff, and community support for the EWIS, as well as developing the conditions for effective implementation and use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context Emerging experiences suggest that research-practice partnerships (RPPs) can benefit both research and practice. As researchers and practitioners become part of the same social network, they also can become trusted sources of information for one another. By modeling the research use process, practitioners can incorporate what they learn into their own research acquisition and interpretation processes and researchers can gain a better understanding of how their work can be designed and conducted so that it is directly relevant to practice. Purpose/Focus of the Study: Prior literature on research-practice partnerships has identified common challenges of these partnerships such as turnover, trust, common language, and complex systems. The study follows a grounded theory approach to better understand challenges and dynamics within research-practice partnerships. Setting: The study included members of eight research-practice partnerships including two focused primarily on the use of early warning indicators to reduce high school dropout. Partnerships were diverse in their location and maturity. Five partnerships were located in the Midwest, one partnership was located in the South, and two partnerships were located in New England. Half of the partnerships were less than two years old at the time of the interviews, and the oldest partnership was 8 years old. Research Design: Using a grounded theory approach to better understand challenges and dynamics within RPPs, we analyzed qualitative interview data inductively to identify common themes discussed by respondents. Data Collection and Analysis: The study team conducted telephone interviews with two researchers and two practitioners from eight RPPs, for a total of 31 interviews - one researcher was interviewed for two different partnerships. The team used semi-structured interview protocols aligned to the four research questions. In analyzing the interview data, we identified themes, categories, and theories that emerged from the data and confirmed or refuted our initial impressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-standing consensus among sociologists holds that educational attainment has an equalizing effect that increases mobility by moderating other avenues of intergenerational status transmission. This study argues that the evidence supporting this consensus may be distorted by two problems: measurement error in parents' socioeconomic standing and the educational system's tendency to progressively select people predisposed for mobility rather than to actually affect mobility. Analyses of family income mobility that address both of these problems in three longitudinal surveys converge on new findings. Intergenerational mobility is significantly lower among high school dropouts than among others, but there are no significant differences in mobility across higher education levels. This is consistent with compensatory advantage processes among the least educated in which individuals from advantaged backgrounds use family-based resources to compensate for their lack of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. high school dropout rate continues to decline. Possible reasons for this decline include stronger academic standards, persistent state and district actions, and implementation of programs to help disconnected youth reconnect to educational opportunities. In the current study, we propose a complementary hypothesis for rate improvements: adult capacity. When adults nurture, socialize, and teach youth, youth are more likely to achieve academic and life success. Likewise, neighborhoods need enough adults to provide these relationships. Using the Decennial Census data (1970-2010), we examined whether an increase in the adult-to-youth ratio in a neighborhood covaries with a reduction in the status dropout rate. We find that a 1% increase in the ratio is associated with a 1% decrease in the dropout rate. The effect is substantially greater in predominantly Black or African American neighborhoods and higher income neighborhoods. Policy implications are discussed, specifically how the adult-to-youth ratio could be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests a link between precocious transitions to adulthood (e.g., high school dropout) and maladaptation, and this association is typically assumed to be uniform. We propose that this monolithic portrayal of precocious transitions as problematic for adult functioning is unwarranted, particularly across identities defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we use propensity score methodology to demonstrate that the effects of precocious transitions on adult antisocial behavior vary. Results indicate a general null effect of experiencing any precocious transition among low SES subgroups regardless of gender and race/ethnicity and criminogenic effects among more economically privileged subgroups, with the exception of Hispanic females. Additional analyses reveal that the effect of individual transitions further vary in significance across social identities, displaying a criminogenic effect among some subgroups and a null/protective effect among others. Implications for theory and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human capital theory predicts that individuals acquire less schooling when the returns to schooling are small. To test this theory, the authors study the effect of the Appalachian coal boom on high school enrollments. During the 1970s, a boom in the coal industry increased the earnings of high school dropouts relative to those of graduates. During the 1980s, the boom subsided and the earnings of dropouts declined relative to those of graduates. The authors find that high school enrollment rates in Kentucky and Pennsylvania declined considerably in the 1970s and increased in the 1980s in coal-producing counties relative to counties without coal. The estimates indicate that a long- term 10%increase in the earnings of low-skilled workers could decrease high school enrollment rates by as much as 5 --7%--a finding with implications for policies aimed at improving low-skilled workers' employment and earnings, such as wage subsidies and minimum wage increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To estimate employment-population ratios for black and white men with an adjustment for incarceration--a factor overlooked by most research on employment inequality--the authors combine data from surveys of prisons and jails with data from the Current Population Survey. This adjustment significantly reduces estimated employment rates for African Americans, young workers, and young high school dropouts. The authors find that employment among young black male high school dropouts steadily declined between 1982 and 1996 despite periods of very low unemployment in the labor market as a whole. Standard labor force data, which include no incarceration data, understate black-white inequality in employment among young dropouts by about 45%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the contribution of mentor support to the following aspects of high-school dropouts' lives: the personal (self-esteem, and the process of becoming less religious [BLR]), social (societal conditional positive and negative regard) and psychological (well-being and loneliness). The study, conducted among Ultraorthodox Jewish males, included 261 participants, aged 14 years to 21 years (M = 17, SD = 1.17), who were at different stages in the dropout process. Findings indicated a significant difference in the contribution of mentor support. Among youths still in their yeshiva high schools, mentor support made only a minor contribution to the process of BLR; for youths in a program for dropouts, mentor support made a positive contribution to most aspects of their lives. However, among dropouts, mentor support contributed negatively to all aspects that were examined in the current study. Findings highlight the importance of further illuminating the role of mentor support and adapting it to youths' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This picture of a college-educated working class meshes neatly with what we know about another part of the working class, that is, union members. Already a decade ago, union members with a bachelor's or graduate degree equaled the number with only a high school diploma. The latest data from the U.S. Department of Education record nearly 3.9 million college graduates for the 2015-2016 academic year, of whom one million received a two-year associate's degree, the remainder a bachelor's or graduate degree. [Extracted from the article]

Students with disabilities (SWDs) continue to experience rates of high school dropout greater than students not receiving special education services. Furthermore, there is a persistent gap in the rates of high school completion among students with and without disabilities. While criticized for lowering standards and learning, online learning represents a plausible mechanism to both decrease dropout and increase high school completion among SWDs. Drawing on theoretical frameworks advanced by Dynarski et al. and Cavanaugh et al., the current study uses a nationally representative data panel to investigate the association between online coursetaking among SWDs and two dependent variables: high school dropout and completion. Results indicated that online coursetaking was associated with increased probabilities of high school completion among SWDs. Implications and policy recommendations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on an emerging Hispanic-Serving Research Institution (HSRI) and seeks to understand its Hispanic-serving identity as seen through the eyes of senior campus administrators. Findings suggest that instead of asking whether an institution is Hispanic-serving, it may be more appropriate to ask about the extent to which an institution is Hispanic-serving, acknowledging the ongoing identity development that may be required of institutions and supporting the need to expand the existing HSI (Hispanic-serving institution) narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the University of California, Los Angeles' Institute of Industrial Relations. A new program to develop work-study for high-school dropouts, the UCLA New Careers Youth Development Project, is being offered to the U.S. Office of Education's Career Opportunities Branch. The Institute is also doing a long-range survey on sensitivity training programs for supervisors. Benjamin Aaron is focused on research in comparative labor law. Paul Prasow finished the study, "A Longitudinal Study of Automated and Nonautomated Job Patterns in the Southern California Aerospace Industry."

Previous research suggests that extracurricular engagement reduces the likelihood of high school dropout, particularly among traditionally at-risk populations such as racial and ethnic minorities and students from low-income families. Using social bond theory, we examine how the breadth and intensity of extracurricular engagement are related to the likelihood of dropout among a nationally representative sample of students over three years of schooling. Using logistic regression models, we use data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine how extracurricular participation relates to the potential of dropping out by accounting for known correlates and potential selection biases. We find a significant positive relationship between engagement in extracurricular activities (both in number and distribution over different types of activities) and a reduced likelihood of dropout. This relationship is particularly strong in the case of athletic involvement among African American students and for students who simultaneously participate in both athletic and academic/fine arts activities. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of current policy trends toward the elimination of extracurricular programming and the assessment of student participation fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dropping out of school represents the culmination of a process that begins long before a student enters high school. It is estimated that a quarter of students with high potential leave school without a high school diploma; however, research on how high-potential students uniquely experience dropping out of school is in its beginning stages. This study sought to acquire a rich understanding of how 14 gifted individuals who did not complete high school interpreted this experience and the meaning they attributed to it. Six major themes emerged from the data: (a) significant external circumstances, (b) need for support, (c) social influences, (d) outlets, (e) an alternate path, and (f) reflecting on the path. This exploratory study enhances our understanding of why gifted students choose to leave school and supports the validity of alternate paths to success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the effect of high school dropout on subsequent criminal convictions and how postdropout resource attainment in terms of education and employment may modify such an effect. Methods: Propensity score matching (PSM) using administrative register data covering two full Swedish birth cohorts is employed to assess the effect of dropout on convictions. Event history analysis is used to examine the modifying effect of subsequent resource attainment. Results: The PSM analysis reveals an effect of dropout on convictions for men, whereas no evidence of such an effect is found for women. Returning to school after dropout significantly reduces the crime-inducing effect of dropout among men. Finding occupation after dropout also reduces the risk for criminal conviction but does so independently of the effect of dropout. Conclusion: Since resource attainment after the dropout event modifies the effect on criminal convictions, it is concluded that policies such as lifelong learning strategies promoting opportunities for a “second chance” may, besides their intended consequences, also have crime preventive side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High school dropout is commonly seen as the result of a long-term process of failure and disengagement. As useful as it is, this view has obscured the heterogeneity of pathways leading to dropout. Research suggests, for instance, that some students leave school not as a result of protracted difficulties but in response to situations that emerge late in their schooling careers, such as health problems or severe peer victimization. Conversely, others with a history of early difficulties persevere when their circumstances improve during high school. Thus, an adequate understanding of why and when students drop out requires a consideration of both long-term vulnerabilities and proximal disruptive events and contingencies. The goal of this review is to integrate long-term and immediate determinants of dropout by proposing a stress process, life course model of dropout. This model is also helpful for understanding how the determinants of dropout vary across socioeconomic conditions and geographical and historical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1990s marked the beginning of a new era of immigration in terms of volume and settlement patterns and also witnessed significant changes in the social contexts confronting immigrants. These changes could have significant repercussions for immigrant youth. While previous research on high school dropout behavior suggests immigrant youth are faring better in US schools, our research provides a less optimistic outlook. Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study (1988) and Educational Longitudinal Study (2002), we use multivariate analysis, regression decomposition, and fixed effect models to examine how reading and math test scores of children of immigrants changed during the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to examine the relationship between running away from home between the ages of 12 and 14 and dropping from high school among youth. Propensity score matching was conducted in estimating the effect of running away on high school dropout while controlling for confounding factors, such as familial instability and socioemotional health risks. The findings suggest that having runaway-homeless episodes have a detrimental effect on academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We compare the employment of African American and white youth as they transition to adulthood from age 18 to 22, focusing on high school graduates and high school dropouts who did not attend college. Using OLS and hazard models, we analyze the relative employment rates, and employment consistency, stability, and timing, controlling for a number of factors including family income, academic aptitude, prior work experience, and neighborhood poverty. We find white high school graduates work significantly more than all other youth on most measures; African American high school graduates work as much and sometimes less than white high school dropouts; African American dropouts work significantly less than all other youth. Findings further suggest that the improved labor market participation associated with a high school diploma is higher over time for African Americans than for white youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of high school dropout has long concerned policy makers, educational professionals, and the general public. In the gifted literature, this concern is no less pressing. Student engagement is becoming an increasingly discussed construct for conceptualizing the dropout phenomenon and designing appropriate interventions to prevent this phenomenon. The purpose of this literature review was to review prior findings in the gifted underachievement and dropout literature within the framework of student engagement. Specifically, academic, behavioral, affective, and cognitive indicators of student engagement are examined. Findings of the review and implications for research and practice are presented. Student engagement may prove to be an essential construct in understanding, predicting, and preventing dropout behavior among gifted students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background/Context: Efforts to improve student achievement should increase graduation rates. However, work investigating the effects of student-level accountability has consistently demonstrated that increases in the standards for high school graduation are correlated with increases in dropout rates. The most favored explanation for this finding is that high-stakes testing policies that mandate grade repetition and high school exit exams may be the tipping point for students who are already struggling academically. These extra demands may, in fact, push students out of school. Purpose/Objective/Focus: This article examines two hypotheses regarding the relation between school-level accountability and dropout rates. The first posits that improvements in school performance lead to improved success for everyone. If school-level accountability systems improve a school for all students, then the proportion of students performing at grade level increases, and the dropout rate decreases. The second hypothesis posits that schools facing pressure to improve their overall accountability score may pursue this increase at the cost of other student outcomes, including dropout rate. Research Design: Our approach focuses on the dynamic relation between school-level academic achievement and dropout rates over time--that is, between one year's achievement and the subsequent year's dropout rate, and vice versa. This article employs longitudinal data of records on all students in North Carolina public schools over an 8-year period. Analyses employ fixed-effects models clustering schools and districts within years and controls each year for school size, percentage of students who were free/reduced-price lunch eligible, percentage of students who are ethnic minorities, and locale. Findings/Results: This study finds partial evidence that improvements in school-level academic performance will lead to improvements (i.e., decreases) in school-level dropout rates. Schools with improved performance saw decreased dropout rates following these successes. However, we find more evidence of a negative side of the quest for improved academic performance. When dropout rates increase, the performance composites in subsequent years increase. Conclusions/recommendations: Accountability systems need to remove any indirect benefit a school may receive from increasing its dropout rate. Schools should be held accountable for those who drop out of school. Given the personal and social costs of dropping out, accountability systems need to place more emphasis on dropout prevention. Such an emphasis could encompass increasing the dropout age and having the school's performance composite include scores of zero on end-of-grade tests for those who leave school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to youth who stay in high school and graduate, those who drop out are more likely to be involved in drug use. However, the exact reason these two behaviors are connected is uncertain. Whereas some studies suggest that drug use puts youth at risk for dropout, others find that both behaviors are part of a larger pattern of adolescent problem behavior caused by early academic setbacks. Using a sample (N=11,395) of students from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS), this study examines the relationship between illegal drug use in tenth grade and later dropout. Propensity score matching is used to pair drug users with non-users who are similar on a wide array of characteristics measured in eighth grade that are predictive of both drug use and dropout. Results indicate that drug use is associated with dropping out even after adjusting for these factors. Implications for dropout prevention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author examined the AG by noting that the NAEP reported math scores among 17-year-olds is upwardly biased when compared with the scores of this same cohort 4 years earlier when they were 13 years old. It is upwardly biased because an important event happens over the 4-year period between 8th and 12th grade—a large percentage of students leave school without graduating, and they tend to be the poorest performing students. The analyses indicate that there is indeed a considerable amount of bias in these test scores, for all three ethnic-racial groups and thus for the reported achievement gaps. There are two conclusions to be drawn from the analysis. First, it is inappropriate to compare the eighth-grade scores with those that occur 4 years later when they were 17 year old. Over the 4-year period, the population of high school students has changed as a result of significant events, such as dropout rates. These rates are especially significant among Black and Hispanic students. Second, because of such bias, the achievement gap, as reported, is misleading and adjustments need to be made if we are to get an accurate portrait of student achievement and the achievement gap. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the city setting in which this article's investigation took place, high school dropout rates have remained above 50% for better than three decades. This article reports on a photographic inquiry into urban youth's perceptions of the very institution of school, revealing reasons behind the multigenerational school disengagement represented by these graduation rate statistics Relying on visually based mechanisms with which city students are already proficient, the findings suggest that these tools can provide previously inaccessible data on school detachment as well as deepen our perspectives on what these youth believe about school leaders and leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to document and analyze students' experiences with dropping out of high school, using a social capital framework. Examining the stories of high school dropouts provided valuable information related to the root causes of dropout behaviors. The context of this study was a high school in an urban school division in a Southeastern state. The participants were 5 high school dropouts who spoke English as a primary language and who were a part of the general education population at the school. Triangulation of data sources included field notes, interviews with the participants, and archival documents. Three-iteration code mapping was used for data analysis and was included in an audit trail of all the study procedures. Other points and thematic representations considered were: (a) results of this study presented as narrative descriptions of the dropout histories of each participant, (b) themes resulting from the analysis across all of the narratives as discussed within the social capital framework, (c) suggestions for the development of programs to increase social capital in the family, school, and community, as included in the Conclusion section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "high school dropout" has long been problematized for the way it obscures the role of schools in "pushing out" students and for its connotation of personal failure. This article explores the ways in which adolescents who left high school and have subsequently reenrolled understand their own experience as "dropouts" and the broader phenomenon of high school attrition. Data from this qualitative study reveal that participants hold complex and contradictory understandings of what it means to leave high school. The study has implications for researchers, policymakers, and educators in high schools and in programs serving youth who are returning to school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to investigate high school dropout and its association with the high school curriculum. In particular, it examines how combinations of career and technical education (CTE) and core academic courses influence the likelihood of leaving school. Hazards models indicate a significant curvilinear association between the CTE-to-academic course-taking ratio and the risk of dropping out for youths who were aged 14 and younger when they entered the ninth grade (not old for grade). This finding suggests that a middle-range mix of exposure to CTE and an academic curriculum can strengthen a student's attachment to or motivation while in school. The same association was not found between course taking and the likelihood of dropping out for youths who were aged 15 or older when they entered high school, thus prompting further consideration of the situation of being old for grade in school settings that remain highly age graded in their organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high school dropout rate among immigrant students has become a serious problem in many places around the world. Hidden dropout or irregular school attendance may be the first stage of school dropout. This article examines the hidden dropout phenomenon among Ethiopian immigrant adolescents aged 14-18 in Israel, as a prototype of immigration from a traditional, rural society to a western one. Sixty irregular school attendees were compared with 28 regular attendees, regarding the following characteristics: family and socio-economic background, psychological distress symptoms (BSI), self-efficacy (SEF), perceived social support (MSPSS) and cognitive skills (ROCF). Results indicated that both groups came from similar low socio-economic backgrounds and showed similarly poor cognitive performance levels. However, among the hidden dropout group, the perceived social support was significantly higher and feelings of stress were significantly lower. Several explanations are provided for these unexpected results, and research and practice implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The differences in income, crime, health, mental health, and substance use among high school dropouts, GED recipients, and high school graduates are investigated. The study sample is drawn from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), an ongoing investigation of a panel of low-income minority children who grew up in the inner city. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, early cognitive skills, and participation in postsecondary education, results indicate that there are significant differences between dropouts and GED recipients, and between GED recipients and high school graduates in the five aspects of quarterly income equal to or above average, life satisfaction, future optimism, symptoms of severe depression, and substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the dropping out of high school students. A study on gifted students who drop out of high school showed that some opt to leave school because of the low-level curriculum and a culture that disrespected them. Some of the school variables that are associated with dropping out of high school include boredom and irrelevancy of school, lack of motivation, underachievement, unsatisfying relationships with teachers and low self-esteem. Research show that gifted students who drop out are from lower income families compared with gifted students who stayed in school.

Conclusions about levels and trends in high school dropout differ dramatically depending on whether dropout is measured using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) or from the Common Core of Data (CCD). Using CPS- and CCD-based drop-out measures for 16- to 9-year-olds—which differ solely in their estimates of the number of 16- to 19-year-olds holding high school credentials—the authors show that half of the differences in estimated drop-out rates are due to how private school graduates and GED recipients are counted. The other half is likely attributable to CPS respondents' misstatements of their children's high school completion status. The rate at which students complete (or fail to complete) high school is best measured using CCD data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies the subgroups of domestic batterers who are at a low or high risk of failing to complete domestic batterer cognitive behavioral treatment. The sample is composed of 355 domestic batterers ordered to complete treatment, with 31.8% not completing treatment. Three subgroups of batterers were identified as having at least a 60% chance of treatment failure: (a) unemployed generalized aggressors, (b) high school dropouts ordered into substance abuse treatment, and (c) unemployed offenders ordered into substance abuse treatment. Furthermore, a high school education, even when offenders are unemployed or living in poverty, buffers the negative effects of a substance abuse problem among court-mandated batterers required to participate in both domestic violence treatment and substance abuse treatment. Two thirds of substance-abusing high school graduates completed both domestic violence and substance abuse treatment, compared to only one third of the substance-abusing high school dropouts. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study in this article identifies three major risk categories of high school dropouts and evaluates the impact of possible prevention strategies. As students accumulate these risks, they became more likely to drop rut and prevention programs become less effective. Additionally, it was found that factors influencing the decision to drop our vary for different sources of risk, and thus there should be a range of prevention strategies offered to accommodate for this variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus is on strategies used by 10 urban districts to reduce school dropouts. Thirty-eight strategies for dropout prevention were identified. Although the majority identified dropout prevention strategies, only two districts referred to ‘recovery programs.’ If district spokespersons mentioned their CEOs using a systems approach in reducing dropouts, the program plans were more specific and recovery programs more active. A surprise was the silence about instructional initiatives for early grade intervention and dropout prevention. The most common prevention strategy was punitive measures involving the criminal justice system, that is, police departments, district attorneys. Thus, it is not surprising that the dropout rate in several of these cities remains unabated during the past 5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-determination, or the ability to identify and achieve goals based on a foundation of knowing and valuing oneself, is both a legal right and a responsibility of an individual. Self-determined employment is consistent with contemporary practice, outcome-based research, and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. In this article, we describe three challenges facing youth with disabilities in rural areas related to determining their own employment, including (a) extensive or chronic poverty in some rural areas as a factor limiting selection of preferred employment, (b) intensive competition for limited jobs available, and (c) the potential for dropping out of high school or other educational programs. In response to these challenges, we describe guidelines that may assist youth, families, educators, and service professionals as they address employment issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human behavior is dynamic, influenced by changing situations over time. Yet the impact of the dynamic nature of important explanatory variables on outcomes has only recently begun to be estimated in developmental models. Using a risk factor perspective, this article demonstrates the potential benefits of regressing time-varying outcome measures on time-varying explanatory measures in longitudinal models. The authors apply event history analysis techniques to demonstrate a methodological strategy that accounts for changes over time in two family risk factors for high school graduation. In a sample of 686 low-income youth attending school in an urban district, the authors found that maternal employment status and income are significant predictors of high school graduation only when conceptualized and measured as time-varying influences. The implications for policy and practice and, from a methodological perspective, for the use of time-varying explanatory variables in event models are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]