More high school graduates : how schools can save students from dropping out / Benjamin Levin ; foreword by Michael Fullan.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-169) and index.

The comprehensive guide helps school leaders and government policymakers boost high school graduation rates. Levin's proven system has been implemented successfully in hundreds of high schools.

The challenge -- A note on dropouts -- Scope -- How high can we aim? -- Not all solutions are good ones -- Why not leave schools alone to figure it out? -- Why school is not like work and why students should not be transformed? -- Why students don't graduate -- The role of pre-high school and wy focus on high schools -- Why high schools are hard to change -- Conclusion -- The framework -- Know the status and progress of every student, know the reasons for any problems, and intervence as soon as there are signs of difficulties -- Provide a program that enables all students to achieve a good outcome -- Improving daily teaching and learning is essential to achieving better high school outcomes ; to do this requires a thoughtful and specific strategey -- Connect schools deeply to thier local and broader commmunity -- Resourcing improvement -- Conclusion -- Connecting with every student -- Monitoring student progress -- Assigning responsibility for following students -- Paying attention to specific groups -- Attendance, discipline, and suspensions -- Student voice -- Conclusion -- Curriculum and graduation requirements -- The challenge of diverse student interets -- The role of the GED -- Vocational education -- How many courses and how much variety? -- Organizing teaching -- Assigning staff -- Helping to reduce failure rates -- Credit rescue and credit recovery -- Using existing program models -- Co-curriculum -- Alternative programs and schools -- Program needs of specific groups -- Conclusion -- Improving teaching and learning -- Comprehensive reform models -- Relevance -- Hands-on learing -- Collective work by teachers -- Knowledge and teaching practice -- Learning communities -- Effective student assessment -- Student engagement in teaching and learing -- The role of inoformation technology -- Independent learning -- Conclusion -- Connecting with community -- Working with parents and families -- Challenges to community engagement -- Working with community groups -- Programming in and with communities -- Working with postsecondary institutions -- Dual credit and early college programs -- Learning about work as a school and community function -- Conclusion -- Implimentation -- Research, data, and evidence -- Steps to effective implimentation -- Focus -- A plan -- Infrastructure and resources -- Structures, systems, and processes -- Dealing with resistance -- Indicators of progress -- Communicate often and openly -- Distractions -- Conclusion.