The Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) obtained federal grant funds for a school dropout demonstration assistance program, which began operating in 1988-89 as Project GRAD (Grant Research About Dropouts). Project components included the following: (1) piloting the use of dropout intervention specialists at 10 high schools; (2) improving procedures for identifying at-risk students; (3) evaluating the effectiveness of some of the District's dropout prevention programs; and (4) enhancing the community's understanding of the dropout problem. This report presents major findings of Project GRAD. Statistics indicate that despite State education reforms, AISD's dropout prevention effort, WINGS (With Intervention the Number of Graduates Soars), and other initiatives, the AISD dropout rate has remained roughly unchanged since 1982. Factors seen as contributing to program inefficacy include lack of special services, WINGS programs overlap, underattention by campus coordinators, overreliance on part-time specialists, and an overbroad State definition of at-risk students. WINGS should be modified to accomplish the following: (1) match services to needs and eliminate service gaps; (2) coordinate existing programs; (3) track and monitor individual at-risk students; (4) concentrate services on students at greatest risk; and (5) evaluate existing programs on an ongoing basis. The report includes 58 figures, 23 attachments to chapters, and a list of 18 references. (AF)