High schools in Australia are increasingly expected to be effective in holding students at school to year 12 as well as in promoting achievement. Analysis of quantitative data gathered as part of a longitudinal study of 22 New South Wales (Australia) schools shows that schools differ in their holding power as well as in the achievement levels of…

This book provides an overview of a 4-year longitudinal study of senior secondary schooling in the government high schools of New South Wales, Australia. The study followed the progress from year 9 to year 12 of 3,000 students from 22 government secondary schools in 2 metropolitan and 2 nonmetropolitan regions. The book is divided into 10…