This study examined the efficacy of Check & Connect with general education students who showed early warning signs of risk for dropping out of high school in a large urban district.
The sample included 553 students with the lowest predicted probabilities of on-time graduation based on attendance, behavior, and course performance in Grades 8 and 9. Students were randomly assigned to receive a Check & Connect mentor for three years, starting in the summer after Grade 9, or not. Findings suggest the program was implemented with fidelity, except with students who left district schools. Check & connect did not have any statistically significant impacts on measures of engagement, academic progress, the likelihood of dropping out, or graduation. These results are discussed in the context of other literature on mentoring and dropout prevention. (Published abstract provided)