President Bush's National Education Goals for the year 2000 include increasing the percentage of students graduating from high school, increasing the percentage of dropouts who return later to complete a high school degree or its equivalent, and closing the gap in graduation rates between minority group students and White students. Census figures indicate that the overall dropout rate increased between 1968 and 1989, and that the school completion rates for Hispanic American students and Native American students lag far behind the rates of African American students and White students. Student engagement with school has emerged as the single most important factor in dropout prevention and school completion. The following categories of dropout prevention program characteristics are essential to promoting student engagement: (1) relevance of school; (2) academic success; (3) students' positive experience of the school environment; and (4) school accommodation to outside factors. In addition, a successful dropout prevention program must include clear school completion goals, which must be regularly monitored, and district and school accountability. Long-term improvements in school completion rates will require both school improvement and improvements in larger social problems, such as health care, housing, unemployment, and job discrimination. A list of 13 references is appended. (FMW)