Based on the alternatives approach to drug abuse prevention, two service opportunity courses were offered to 8th and 9th grade students. Students in Cross-Age Tutoring were taught tutoring and communication skills and spent one period, 4 days per week tutoring elementary students. Students in School Store (a service opportunity developed for this study) were taught business and interpersonal skills and operated an on-campus store. Students who volunteered for either course were matched and one student from each pair was randomly assigned to receive the course while the other served as a control. All students were pre- and post-tested via a self reporting Student Questionnaire, observations and interviews, and most students participated in follow-up testing 1 year later. Affective and drug-specific measures were collected, with positive effects of the courses hypothesized for self-esteem, attitudes toward school, attendance, locus of control, and discipline problems. Results indicated negligible effects for either course, although students rated the courses favorably. Discussion of results is in terms of shortcomings of the courses themselves and limitations of the school-based model of alternatives to drug abuse and calls into question the efficacy of incorporating service opportunity prevention strategies within the school curriculum. (Author/PN)