COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF DROPOUTS AND PERSISTERS FROM A SELECTED ALTERNATIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL (OPTIONAL SCHOOLS)

The purpose of this study was to compare demographic, educational, family, personal, and occupational characteristics of persisters and dropouts in an alternative school to see if they differed. Suggestions for program improvement were proposed. The population was the total group of students enrolled in the secondary alternative school. One female consented to an interview and writing exercise that disclosed details of her early and present personal life and her reasons for dropping out and re-enrolling again. Information about program perceptions and family backgrounds was obtained through the use of a structured interview and certain demographic and academic data were gathered from the students\u27 school records. The major findings of the study were as follows: (1) The length of time a student resided in the district or the distance traveled to school made no difference in retention. (2) Persisters and dropouts entered the Center with an equal number of credits. (3) Persisters and dropouts did not differ in the number of siblings in their families and the largest percentage of students lived with both parents. (4) Education was more important to the family of the persister than to the families of those who dropped out of school. (5) Economic status of the home and occupational level of the parents were lower for the dropout than the persister. (6) The majority of students had a reading level at or above grade level. Dropouts, however, had a lower IQ level than persisters. (7) Dropouts in the study exhibited charactersitics of higher absenteeism, dislike of school, and conflict with staff. (8) Students did not exhibit frequent school changes nor were there discipline problems at the alternative school. (9) The majority of the dropouts said the decision to leave school was their own; they did not feel pushed out. (10) The persisters actually worked more hours than the dropouts; nearly 50 percent of the dropouts did not work. (11) A great majority of individuals in both groups said they obtained little or no assistance in locating a job