Staying on Course: Three Year Results of the National Guard Youth Challenge Evaluation - This report presents results from a rigorous evaluation of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, an intensive residential program that aims to "reclaim the lives of at-risk youth" who have dropped out of school. Program participants were found to be much more likely than those in the control group to have obtained a GED certificate or a high school diploma and to have earned college credits. Program participants were also more likely to be employed at the time of the survey, and earned about 20 percent more than their control group counterparts in the year before the survey. Program benefits, however, did not appear to continue after participants left the program. (MDRC, June 2011)...

Staying in Course: Three-Year Results of the National Guard Youth Challenge Evaluation - This report presents results from a rigorous evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, an intensive residential program that aims to "reclaim the lives of at-risk youth" who have dropped out. (MDRC, June 2011)...

Alternative Schools and Programs for Public School Students At Risk of Educational Failure: 2007-08--First Look - This report presents data from a recent survey about alternative schools and programs available to students during the 2007-08 school year. Alternative schools and programs are specifically designed to address the educational needs of students at risk of school failure in a setting apart from that of the regular public school. They can be administered by the district or an entity other than the district. The study includes information on the availability and number of alternative schools and programs, the number of students enrolled in alternative schools and program, and district policy on returning students to a regular school. (Priscilla Rouse Carver and Peter Tice, National Center for Education Statistics, March 2010)...

Alternative Schools: What is in a Name? - This brief describes the origins of alternative schools, different structures of alternative schools and programs, and student achievement, particularly in Indiana. Furthermore, this brief addresses how stereotypes affect alternative schools and their students as well as whether alternative schools support and/or segregate specific groups of students. (Kelly Cable, Jonathan Plucker and Terry Spradliln, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Winter 2009)...

Federal, State, and Local Roles Supporting Alternative Education - This paper examines the roles that various levels of government play to support quality alternative education programs that reconnect youth to education and the workplace. It raises issues for policymakers to consider in expandeding alternative education pathways, which reduce the number of dropouts and provide well-lit reentry points for those who leave school before obtaining a diploma. (Nancy Martin and Betsy Brand, American Youth Policy Forum, June 2006)...

Academic Programs in Alternative Education: An Overview - This paper examines academic programming in alternative education programs by reviewing the literature specifically focused on the academic programs in alternative education and summarizing a survey of fifteen alternative education programs. It suggests options for further research on this topic based on the literature review and reports from the programs surveyed. (Betsy Brown Ruzzi and Jacqueline Kraemer, National Center on Education and the Economy, April 2006)...

An Overview of Alternative Education - There is a great need for a variety of alternative pathways to educational success, ranging from intervention and prevention strategies in the early years, to high-quality alternative options at the middle and high school levels, and finally to opportunities for those unable to learn and thrive in the mainstream education system. This paper reviews community- or district-based programs that focus on re-engaging out-of-school youth in learning to better prepare them for high growth occupations and careers. (Laudan Y. Aron, The Urban Institute, January 2006)...