'At-Risk' Eighth-Graders Four Years Later. Statistics in Brief.

The early identification of students at risk of school failure and the development of strategies to improve their chances of success in school are important topics for researchers, policy makers, and educators. This report examines high school outcomes and determines, through data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, if any outcomes are related to risk factors that can be identified at the beginning of high school. "At-risk eighth-grade students were identified as those who: live in single-parent families; have family incomes of less than $15,000; have an older sibling who has dropped out; have parents who did not finish high school; have limited proficiency in English; or are at home without adult supervision more than three hours a day. About 26% of eighth graders nationally major finding is that of students identified as having multiple risk factors in eighth grade, only 60% graduated from high school on time, compared with 90% of students with no risk factors. Sixty-five percent of students with multiple risk factors failed to complete a basic sequence of high school courses. At-risk students were more likely to test poorly in mathematics, and they were more likely to report getting into trouble at school. Students with multiple risk factors in eighth grade were also more likely to have a child in 1992. Four figures and three tables present study findings. A brief appendix discusses methodology. (Contains eight references.) (SLD)