Page 95 - Demo

93Practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique increased the percentage of high school students graduating, especially those with low grade point averages.National high school graduation rates have declined in recent years, despite public and private efforts. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether students practicing the Quiet Time / TM program at a medium-size urban school had higher school graduation rates, compared to students who did not receive training in this stress-reduction program.An analysis, based on school records, was conducted on all 235 students enrolled during their senior year. Overall the percentage of TM students graduating was 87.1% and the percentage of non-meditating students graduating was only 66.7% (p <.001). Results from a matched controlled subgroup indicated that for the low GPA students, 72.9% of the TM students graduated compared to only 47.9% of the non-meditating students (p = .012). Signifi cant differences were also found for dropout rates and college acceptance. These results indicate that TM is a viable program for increasing graduation rates in urban schools.1009080706050403020100Low GPA Students All Students High GPA StudentsControls TMp < .01p < .001NSPercent GraduatingIncreased Percentage Graduatingtm-008MORE SUCCESS IN SCHOOLReference: Colbert, R. D., & Nidich, S. (2013). Effect of the Transcendental Meditation program on graduation, college acceptance, and dropout rates for students attending an urban public high school. Education, 133(4), 495%u2013501.