The Impact of the National Programme for Reducing School Dropout on the Performance of Eighth Form Students in Romanian Language and Literature

This research analyses the impact of the National Programme for Reducing School Dropout (NPRSD) on the academic performance of 8th form students, with emphasis on the results obtained in the subject of Romanian language and literature. The study is based on a pre-experimental design and was conducted in rural areas, involving two comparable educational units. The experimental group benefited from remedial and support activities within NPRSD, including additional preparation sessions, digital educational resources and a hot meal. The primary method of data collection was the analysis of school documents; the assessment tool was the National Evaluation mock exam, applied before and after the intervention. The results indicate a significant improvement in academic performance within the experimental group, reflected by an increase in the average marks and a reduction in the number of students with marks below the passing threshold. Statistical analysis highlighted a significant positive effect, supported by the t-test for paired groups and Cohen’s d-index.