Local school dropout programs are surveyed to identify the approaches used to prevent or overcome dropping out and to obtain views of local program administrators about dropout problems and programs. The programs had the following basic elements in common: (1) poor and minority teenagers who have multiple problems are targeted; (2) multiple services including basic education, counseling and social service assistance; and (3) factors lacking in the schools of the participants such as a caring staff, a safe secure learning environment, individualized instruction and attention to individual needs. Factors that inhibit the effectiveness of the dropout prevention programs include youths' troubled homes and overcrowded classes. A review of the quality of school district dropout data showed that the data are often difficult to interpret and lack comparability across school districts, but the report should assist Congress in its deliberations on pending legislation to fund local dropout prevention programs. (VM)