The characteristics of marginal high school students and the social dynamics that create conditions in schools that lead to truancy and eventual dropping out are described as an introduction to a discussion on how to deal with the problem. Guidelines for effective programs for marginal students are delineated, and the activities and scope of six effective school programs designed to involve marginal students in school work and motivate them to remain in school are described. Cited are: (1) Reuther Education at Large (REAL); (2) Lincoln Educational Alternative Program (LEAP); (3) Paper High School (PHS); (4) School Within a School (SWS); (5) Alternative Learning Program; and (6) Academic Development Opportunity Program (ADOP). The characteristics of an effective anti-dropout program are delineated in the areas of administration and organization, teacher culture, student culture, and curriculum and instruction. Suggestions are made for planning a successful program for marginal students. (JD)

Students considered at-risk are defined as students who lack a sense of identity, personal connectedness, and personal power. Another characteristic of at-risk students is the role parents play or fail to play in the at-risk behavior. A case is made for all students being at risk at some point in their lives. Four programs were designed and implemented to help at-risk and marginal students at one junior high school. The four programs include the OK Club, the Quest for Success Skills Program, the I-CANN (Individualized Course Alternative, Now or Never), and the Student Assistance Council. The OK Club is designed to build self-esteem and to provide after school-support and requires a strong parental component. The Quest for Success Skills Program is a transition program which prepares at risk sixth-graders for junior high school. The I-CANN Program provides counseling, development of self-esteem, and a hands-on curriculum. It also has a strong parental component. The Student Assistance Council involves a staff team that assesses the needs of at-risk students and recommends actions to address those needs. A successful program must begin with an attitude of caring. This caring attitude must be reflected by the total school staff toward every student and his or her family. (ABL)

Underachievement is approached from a broad, integrated perspective in this insightful look at the talented adolescent who always performs below his or her optimum level of achievement. Professor Griffin examines the psychological, social, and scholastic reasons behind the phenomenon of the distracted and disengaged high school student. The result of this in-depth study: A unique volume describing effective student learning behavior, providing curricular and instructional proposals for motivating underachievers, and offering a construct that provides the basis for understanding the various factors that account for academic achievement.

This report assesses the societal costs of substance abuse--especially cocaine and crack addition--and dropping out of school. It is organized around three themes: (1) the impact of cocaine and crack abuse in terms of crime, public spending, and lost productivity; (2) policies that move addicts away from crack; and (3) policies that reduce the high school dropout rate. Based on extant literature, the report quantifies a bottom-line cost of drug abuse to have been between $60.4 billion and $124.9 billion in 1988, a figure that reflects the costs of health care, economic loss, and law enforcement relating to substance abuse. Impact also is assessed in terms of private and social issues. In evaluating the success of policies that have effectively moved addicts away from drugs, important questions concerning criteria for success, motivation for drug use, and addiction are explored. Law enforcement, treatment, educational, and prevention policies are evaluated. The current literature on testing, outpatient treatment, and peer programs to reduce the motivation toward drug abuse and to move addicts away from cocaine and crack is reviewed. In response to the issue of dropout prevention, the report recommends a rethinking of the structure of high schools within a collaborative context involving parents, schools, and communities. Included in the report are a working bibliography and a community service booklet that deals with the issues of this report on a local community level. (NB)