Understanding Dropouts

Understanding Dropouts
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 66
Release: 2001-08-29
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309170583

The role played by testing in the nation's public school system has been increasing steadily-and growing more complicated-for more than 20 years. The Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity (CEETE) was formed to monitor the effects of education reform, particularly testing, on students at risk for academic failure because of poverty, lack of proficiency in English, disability, or membership in population subgroups that have been educationally disadvantaged. The committee recognizes the important potential benefits of standards-based reforms and of test results in revealing the impact of reform efforts on these students. The committee also recognizes the valuable role graduation tests can potentially play in making requirements concrete, in increasing the value of a diploma, and in motivating students and educators alike to work to higher standards. At the same time, educational testing is a complicated endeavor, that reality can fall far short of the model, and that testing cannot by itself provide the desired benefits. If testing is improperly used, it can have negative effects, such as encouraging school leaving, that can hit disadvantaged students hardest. The committee was concerned that the recent proliferation of high school exit examinations could have the unintended effect of increasing dropout rates among students whose rates are already far higher than the average, and has taken a close look at what is known about influences on dropout behavior and at the available data on dropouts and school completion.

"Why We Drop Out"

Author: Deborah L. Feldman
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807758620

These engaging narratives and unique insights will help readers to better understand the interplay of school-related and personal factors that lead students to drop out of school. It is essential reading for K12 educators, school principals, counselors, psychologists, and everyone concerned with our nations dropout crisis.

High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates

High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates
Author: National Academy of Education
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2011-04-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309163072

High school graduation and dropout rates have long been used as indicators of educational system productivity and effectiveness and of social and economic well being. While determining these rates may seem like a straightforward task, their calculation is in fact quite complicated. How does one count a student who leaves a regular high school but later completes a GED? How does one count a student who spends most of his/her high school years at one school and then transfers to another? If the student graduates, which school should receive credit? If the student drops out, which school should take responsibility? High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates addresses these issues and to examine (1) the strengths, limitations, accuracy, and utility of the available dropout and completion measures; (2) the state of the art with respect to longitudinal data systems; and (3) ways that dropout and completion rates can be used to improve policy and practice.

Dropping Out

Dropping Out
Author: Russell W. Rumberger
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2011-10-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0674063163

The vast majority of kids in the developed world finish high school—but not in the United States. More than a million kids drop out every year, around 7,000 a day, and the numbers are rising. Dropping Out offers a comprehensive overview by one of the country’s leading experts, and provides answers to fundamental questions: Who drops out, and why? What happens to them when they do? How can we prevent at-risk kids from short-circuiting their futures? Students start disengaging long before they get to high school, and the consequences are severe—not just for individuals but for the larger society and economy. Dropouts never catch up with high school graduates on any measure. They are less likely to find work at all, and more likely to live in poverty, commit crimes, and suffer health problems. Even life expectancy for dropouts is shorter by seven years than for those who earn a diploma. Russell Rumberger advocates targeting the most vulnerable students as far back as the early elementary grades. And he levels sharp criticism at the conventional definition of success as readiness for college. He argues that high schools must offer all students what they need to succeed in the workplace and independent adult life. A more flexible and practical definition of achievement—one in which a high school education does not simply qualify you for more school—can make school make sense to young people. And maybe keep them there.

The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials

The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2010-12-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 030918651X

Randomized clinical trials are the primary tool for evaluating new medical interventions. Randomization provides for a fair comparison between treatment and control groups, balancing out, on average, distributions of known and unknown factors among the participants. Unfortunately, these studies often lack a substantial percentage of data. This missing data reduces the benefit provided by the randomization and introduces potential biases in the comparison of the treatment groups. Missing data can arise for a variety of reasons, including the inability or unwillingness of participants to meet appointments for evaluation. And in some studies, some or all of data collection ceases when participants discontinue study treatment. Existing guidelines for the design and conduct of clinical trials, and the analysis of the resulting data, provide only limited advice on how to handle missing data. Thus, approaches to the analysis of data with an appreciable amount of missing values tend to be ad hoc and variable. The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials concludes that a more principled approach to design and analysis in the presence of missing data is both needed and possible. Such an approach needs to focus on two critical elements: (1) careful design and conduct to limit the amount and impact of missing data and (2) analysis that makes full use of information on all randomized participants and is based on careful attention to the assumptions about the nature of the missing data underlying estimates of treatment effects. In addition to the highest priority recommendations, the book offers more detailed recommendations on the conduct of clinical trials and techniques for analysis of trial data.

Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction
Author: Ervin F. Sparapani
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2013-08-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0761860851

In the current standards-based, accountability-driven world of education, it is difficult for educators to use differentiated instruction to cater to the individual learning needs of each student. This book explains differentiating instruction in a way that connects to current standards and provides examples of challenging best practice lessons.

School Dropout and Completion

School Dropout and Completion
Author: Stephen Lamb
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 419
Release: 2010-11-29
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9048197635

School dropout remains a persistent and critical issue in many school systems, so much so that it is sometimes referred to as a crisis. Populations across the globe have come to depend on success at school for establishing careers and gaining access to post-school qualifications. Yet large numbers of young people are excluded from the advantages that successful completion of school brings and as a result are subjected to consequences such as higher likelihood of unemployment, lower earnings, greater dependence on welfare and poorer physical health and well-being. Over recent decades, most western nations have stepped up their efforts to reduce drop out and raise school completion rates while maintaining high standards. How school systems have approached this, and how successful they are, varies. This book compares the various approaches by evaluating their impact on rates of dropout and completion. Case studies of national systems are used to highlight the different approaches including institutional arrangements and the various alternative secondary school programs and their outcomes. The evaluation is based on several key questions: What are the main approaches? How do they work? For whom do they work? And, how successful are they in promoting high rates of completion and equivalent outcomes for all? This book examines the nature of the dropout problem in advanced industrialized countries with the goal of developing a broader, international understanding that can feed into public policy to help improve completion rates worldwide.

Latino Dropouts in Rural America

Latino Dropouts in Rural America
Author: Carolyn Hondo
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2008-03-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0791478688

Latino high school students in rural communities talk about dropping out of school.

Understanding and Treating Alcoholism

Understanding and Treating Alcoholism
Author: Jill Littrell
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2014-01-02
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 131778314X

There seems to be an abundance of "factual" information regarding alcoholism; what causes it, who is most susceptible, how it affects its victims, and how it should be treated. However, a definitive source of data supporting -- or refuting -- the numerous and diverse positions was never available. Thus, the goal of the author is to provide professionals with a solid understanding as to which "factual" statements about alcoholism are actually supported with evidence, and some of the empirically validated ways to proceed with treatment. Major methods of treatment are reviewed, and empirically based approaches are compared and contrasted with one another. Different and sometimes new focal points are explored, such as the disease concept of alcoholism, family members of alcoholics, personality characteristics, and effects of alcoholism exclusive to women. Also notable is the nearly unprecedented look into the impact of alcohol on all types of mood and behavior, rather than just on aggression -- a topic long since exhausted. A comprehensive review of literature, complemented with critiques of research, this two-volume set is a thorough, informative source of reference for anyone who seeks to further their knowledge of this often misunderstood, yet unfortunately all too common phenomenon.

Educational Research in Higher Education

Educational Research in Higher Education
Author: José Gómez-Galán
Publisher: River Publishers
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2016-08-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 8793379668

In recent years, increasingly more Higher Education research focusses on a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, thus becoming an integrated component. This practice has been called new methods higher education research. Several reasons seem to explain the rise of these methods: the emergence of a global, multicultural and increasingly complex society, and the involvedness of contemporary social, economical, political and educational problems demand research with a different approach that allows entry to this new complexity. Moreover, in recognition of the limitations inherent to its conceptualization, in which models present approaches from quantitative and qualitative research in order to address the totality and density of human endeavor. For this reason, within higher education research a more pluralistic and flexible view of research is emerging, where models of quantitative and qualitative research are recognized as being complementary to each other, to enter the social convolution in which we live. Educational Research in Higher Education presents latest research theories and modern-day examples of design research in higher education. The chapters represent an extensive assortment of interpretations and examples of how today's new design researchers conceptualize this growing methodology across areas as varied as classroom teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, educational technology, equality studies, environmental education, etc. This book is planned as a guide for master and doctoral students, novel researchers, crossover and professional researchers from field's other than but related to higher education, who are interested in supporting new design research.