Missing Measures of the Who and Why of School Dropouts: Implications for Policy and Research

Because of the relevance of high school education to later career development, counselors and other career development professionals are urged to take an activist role in school improvement. Following a review of the literature and other observations, five goals of a policy and research agenda are discussed: (1) to develop a commonly accepted definition of a dropout; (2) to improve methods of pupil accounting; (3) to separate the causes and identifiers of at-risk behavior; (4) to analyze the relevance of the questions asked about at-risk youth; and (5) to engage in institutional self-examination. Implications for counselors and counselor educators are presented.