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Dropout
Effectiveness
Findings
The WWC review of dropout prevention programs addresses student outcomes in three domains: staying in school, progressing in school, and completing school. 4
Staying in school. Both Long et al. (1996) and Mauldon et al. (2000) reported that teens in LEAP and Cal-Learn programs dropped out of school at lower rates than teens in the control groups. The LEAP study reported that three years after random assignment, 48.4% of LEAP teens dropped out compared with 53.5% of control group teens, but the difference was not statistically significant. The Cal-Learn study reported that for teens 18 years of age and older, 44.7% of Cal-Learn students dropped out compared with 52.3% of control group students. The WWC confirmed that this difference was statistically significant.
Progressing in school. The LEAP study reported that 50% of treatment group members completed grade 11, compared with 45.4% of control group members, but the difference was not statistically significant. Outcomes in this domain were not measured in the Cal-Learn study.
Completing school. The LEAP study reported 34% of LEAP teens completed high school or earned a GED compared with 31.9% of control group students. The Cal-Learn study reported 29.1% of treatment group members 18 years of age and older received a high school diploma or GED compared with 24.2% of similarly aged control group members. Neither study reported effects on completion that were statistically significant. Both studies reported that the impact on completing school was due almost entirely to higher rates of GED receipt, and the impact on GED receipt was statistically significant for Cal-Learn.
Rating of effectiveness
The WWC rates interventions as positive, potentially positive, mixed, no discernible effects, potentially negative, or negative. The rating of effectiveness takes into account four factors: the quality of the research design, the statistical significance of the findings, the size of the difference between participants in the intervention condition and the comparison condition, and the consistency in findings across studies (see the WWC Intervention Rating Scheme).