DROPOUT PREVENTION PROGRAMS

Effective Dropout Prevention Programs to Increase High School Graduation Rates



Table of Contents

Introduction3

Problem Statement4

Purpose Statement5

Research Questions/Hypothesis5

Theoretical Framework6

Review of Literature7

Methods10

Participants11

Data Collection13

Summary15

Potential Limitations16

Ethical Issues16

References17

Bibliography21

Effective Dropout Prevention Programs to Increase High School Graduation Rates

Introduction

Poor attendance is a frequently cited characteristic of students who are at-risk for dropping out of school. Attendance problems such as truancy, cutting class, and tardiness are costly national educational problems. For example, one large high school in Los Angeles County reported a loss of state reimbursement of about $200,000 during a single calendar year because of student absenteeism. Although it is reasonable to expect an average absenteeism rate of 5% for legitimate reasons (Levante, 1979), in some high schools the figure rises to as much as 25% (Levante, 1979; Nielsen & Gerber, 1979).

High absenteeism is of concern to schools because of both financial loss and losses in instructional time, or opportunities to learn (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1986). School absenteeism and dropping out also are associated with increased acts of juvenile crime, and therefore have become a criticaL social concern as well (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1986).

A mismatch between students' levels of academic skills and their assignments contributes to a school climate so punitive that students may be provoked to stay away. "Many administrators attest to a direct relationship between the kinds of subject matter and instructional material used, on the one hand, and the number of classroom disruptions, acts of defiance against teachers, apathy and absenteeism, on the other" (Brodinsky, 1980, p. 6).

The present study showed a number of promising results. First and foremost, participating at-risk students exhibited dropout rates substantially less than expected. However, without random assignment to treatment and control groups, concluding that this substantial reduction in the dropout rate resulted from the treatment program would be difficult. The project did, however, obtain a number of its other goals, making it highly unlikely that the obtained reductions in dropout rates would have occurred by chance.

Problem Statement

Attendance problems are characteristic of students who drop out of school. Punitive classroom environments have been identified as a major contributor to attendance problems. An attempt was made to reduce dropouts by making classroom environments less punitive, primarily through consultation and tutoring services.

Purpose Statement

In this study we attempted to reduce dropouts and to increase the time engaged in academic work by making the school environment less punitive. To evaluate these goals we used a combination of multiple baselines across classes (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1991), pre-post, and norm comparisons. The interventions utilized for the study took place in the larger context of a federally funded dropout prevention program (Mitchell et al., 1992). The entire program included consulting with teachers regarding classroom management, tutoring and career development activities for project students during the academic year, and an intensive summer school program, which included these activities as well as community based activities (e.g., trips to museums) designed to expose project students to resources outside of their immediate neighborhood.

Research Questions/Hypothesis

H0: Participating at-risk students exhibited dropout rates substantially less than ...