This file contains data from a fast-response survey titled "Dropout Prevention Services and Programs." This survey provides national estimates on how public school districts identify students at risk of dropping out, programs used specifically to address the needs of students at risk of dropping out of school, the use of mentors for at-risk students, and efforts to encourage dropouts to return to school. NCES released the results of this survey in the First Look report “Dropout Prevention Services and Programs in Public School Districts: 2010–11” (
NCES 2011-037).
Questionnaires and cover letters were mailed to the superintendent of each sampled school district in September 2010. The letter introduced the study and requested that the questionnaire be completed by the person most knowledgeable about dropout prevention services and programs in the district. Respondents were offered the option of completing the survey via the Web. Telephone follow-up for survey nonresponse and data clarification was initiated in October 2010 and completed in January 2011. The weighted response rate was 89 percent.
The survey asked respondents to report information on various services or programs offered by districts specifically to address the needs of students at risk of dropping out of school. Respondents reported on the types of transition support services used to help all students transition from a school at one instructional level to a school at a higher instructional level. Data on the various factors used to identify students who were at risk of dropping out were also collected. Other survey topics included whether the district tried to determine the status of students who were expected to return to school in the fall but who do not return as expected, and whether the district follows up before the next school year with students who drop out to encourage them to return to school. Respondents also reported whether the district used various types of information to determine whether to implement additional district-wide dropout prevention efforts.
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