There is new national research on chronic absenteeism, which continues to be a challenge for some school districts in New Jersey and throughout the country. Kids miss school because of issues at home, problems within the community, and because of their own individual situations. Although these contributing factors are not in the control of educators, reports show that schools can have a positive impact on reducing absenteeism.
Panorama Education, an education technology company, released a study that analyzed more than 7,000 schools and 11 million student records. The major finding offers good news: Schools have the power to influence a student’s likelihood of being absent by as much as 22 percent. The pandemic is a factor in this as well because kids at the time were no longer used to being in the classroom consistently.
What are the hopeful findings from this research? Elementary school students who feel safe at school are less likely to miss 10 or more days in a given school year, according to the research. Come middle school, pre-teens who don’t believe they have the skills to do well in school are 1.9 times more likely to be absent. These pre-teens need educators to help them feel safe in a positive setting for learning and growth. And at the high school level, teens who have poor relationships with their teachers are 1.8 times more likely to ditch class; but if they have good social awareness, supportive relationships, and the ability to set goals, plan and manage time (all things teachers and counselors can help with), they are less likely to be chronically absent.
The full white paper, Understanding the Link: The Correlation Between Student Mindsets and Chronic Absenteeism, was written by Senior Research Scientist Andrew Schaper, Ph.D.; Director of Data Science Douglas Coulter, MPA; Data Scientist Edderic Ugaddan, and Playbook Content Director Nick Woolf, M.A.
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