Watch Attendance Works webinar to learn from states and communities that are already using local chronic absence data to raise awareness about the impact of
absences on student achievement?
The memo described the research showing the impact of too many
absences on student achievement and discussed the key components of attendance policies that work: education of caregivers regarding school attendance requirements; effective policies and practices to monitor attendance; a clear definition of excessive absenteeism; and a two - stage response to excessive absences.
What can we learn from states and communities that are already using their local chronic absence data to raise awareness about the impact of
absences on student achievement?
Not exact matches
The
absence of ReadNet Bronx from our evaluation is likely to have only a small impact
on our assessment of
student achievement because the school had only two years of test - taking
students before it closed.
Evidence
on the
achievement effects of desegregation by income is limited by both an
absence of detailed information
on family income (including indicators for severe poverty or high income) and the difficulty in separating the effects of
students» own circumstances from the influences of peers.
Given the negative impact of individual
absences on achievement, Goodman recommends superintendents lean toward cancellation when snow is severe enough to substantially disrupt
student attendance.
In related work conducted in Massachusetts, Harvard economist Josh Goodman finds no effects of school closures
on student achievement but large negative effects of weather - induced
absences on moderately snowy days when schools remained open.
Instead, it is individual
student absences, which increase
on days when schools remain open despite the bad weather, that affect
student achievement, especially in math.
In addition to the country - level factors of per capita GDP and education spending per
student, we include in our analysis information
on the presence or
absence of external exit exams (which research suggests are associated with higher
achievement) and information
on whether the country had a Communist government in 1970 (which may have affected both the size of the private sector and
achievement).
If teachers tend to rely more
on lectures when assigned more capable or attentive
students, this would generate a positive relationship between the amount of time spent lecturing and
student achievement, even in the
absence of a true causal effect.
Second, the
absence of effects
on achievement in nearby traditional public schools suggests that the loss of
students to charter schools is not having negative
achievement effects
on traditional public schools, but it also suggests that charter schools may not produce the hoped - for positive competitive effects in traditional public schools.
As researchers from the University of Minnesota and University of Toronto - authors of the largest study of the impact of school leadership
on student achievement - put it: «To date, we have not found a single case of a school improving its
student achievement record in the
absence of talented leadership.
In addition to the effect these
absences have
on student achievement, they also cost the school districts money, since the Texas state revenue formula is based
on daily attendance.
Attendance Works has created this video to explain the problem of chronic
absence — its prevalence across the country and its impact
on student achievement at every grade level.
Attendance Works is excited by the opportunity that the increased focus
on chronic
absence provides because it has the potential to increase
student achievement substantially.
Chronic
absence especially affects
achievement for low - income
students who depend more
on school for opportunities to learn.
Such inquiry, which requires fine - grained
absence data tied carefully to other information, can ride
on the coattails of data - intensive efforts currently underway to fold
student achievement data into performance evaluations of teachers.
Studies of
students who attend high - quality programs for a significant period of time show improvements in academic performance and social competence, including better grades, improved homework completion, higher scores
on achievement tests, lower levels of grade retention, improved behavior in school, increased competence and sense of self as a learner, better work habits, fewer
absences from school, better emotional adjustment and relationships with parents, and a greater sense of belonging in the community.
Further, studies have found that teachers serving low income and minority
students have higher
absence rates,
on average, which may contribute to the
achievement gap.
These advocates believe the lack of caps
on the number of
students that could take alternative assessments and the
absence of federal interventions for schools that don't improve the
achievement of
students with disabilities mean such
students could be subject to lower expectations and support.
This
absence gives little guidance for districts wanting to evaluate school library services and their impact
on student achievement.
Grade 4 test data, absentee
students scored an average 12 points lower
on the reading assessment than those with no
absences — more than a full grade level
on the NAEP
achievement scale.
The negative effect that
absences have
on achievement suggests that lengthening the school day or year will not necessarily have the desired effect of raising
student performance, but that policies to improve attendance might help.
School climate and culture and SEL go hand - in - hand with reducing chronic
absences and have a deep impact
on student achievement.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN KG ASSISTANCE • Developed and implemented a series of project - based programs for kindergarten
students to help prepare them for international testing purposes • Researched and developed 18 lesson plans aimed at providing preliminary education to kindergarten
students in the
absence of the lead teacher • Prepared a large 15 x 15 (feet) education display for the science week, which earned commendation from the school management • Integrated 15
students with special needs into regular classes, by employing dedicated focus
on their needs and preparing them for the real world
SELECTED
ACHIEVEMENTS • Contributed highly to the implementation of a particularly challenging curriculum in the
absence of a paraprofessional • Managed a class of 15 seven year old
students for 3 days without the leadership of the class teacher, without incident • Saved a 5 year old from choking
on a piece of food by employing fast and accurate first aide knowledge • Introduced the concept of «online materials resourcing», reducing the cost of ordering the same by 50 %