2014

Reducing Chronic Absence

What Will It Take?

www.attendanceworks.org

What is Chronic Absence?

What is the difference from ADA and truancy? Average Daily Attendance • The % of enrolled students who attend school each day.

It is used in some states for allocating funding.

Truancy • Typically refers only to unexcused absences and is defined by each state under No Child Left Behind. It signals the potential need for legal intervention under state compulsory education laws.

Chronic Absence • Missing 10% or more of school for any reason -- excused, unexcused, etc. It is an indication that a student is academically at risk due to missing too much school starting in Kindergarten.

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High Levels of Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Can Mask Chronic Absence 30% 25% 20% 15%

90% and even 95% ≠ A

Chronic Absence For 6 Elementary Schools in Oakland, CA with @ 95% ADA in 2012 30% 25% 20% Chronic Absence for 6 Schools in New York City with 90% ADA in 2011-12

26% 23% 20% 20% 20% 21% 15% 16% 13% 13% 12%

15% 10%

7%

10% 5% 5% 0% A B 0% C D % Chronic Absence E F A B 98% ADA = little chronic absence 95% ADA = don’t know 93% ADA = significant chronic absence C D % Chronic Absence E F

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Truancy (unexcused absences) Can Also Mask Chronic Absence

Number of Chronically Absent Versus Chronically Truant Students San Francisco Unified School District

700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 # chronic absentees - 2010-2011 # students missing 10 days unexcused (as of May 16th 2011) 12

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Why Does Attendance Matter For Achievement?

What we know from research around the country

Starting in PreK, More Years of Chronic Absence = Need for Intensive Reading Support By 2 nd Grade Some risk At risk

* Indicates that scores are significantly different from scores of students who are never chronically absent, at p<.05 level; **p<.01; ***p<.001

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80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Students Chronically Absent in Kindergarten and 1 st Grade are Much Less Likely to Read Proficiently in 3 rd Grade

Percent Students Scoring Proficient or Advanced on 3 rd Based on Attendance in Kindergarten and in 1 st Grade ELA Grade

100% 64% 43% 41% 17% No attendance risks Small attendance risks Moderate attendance risks High attendance risks No risk Small risk Moderate risk High risk Missed less than 5% of school in K & 1 st Missed 5-9% of days in both K & 1 st Missed 5-9% of days in 1 year &10 % in 1 year Missed 10% or more in K & 1 st

Source: Applied Survey Research & Attendance Works (April 2011)

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The Long-Term Impact of Chronic Kindergarten Absence is Most Troubling for Poor Children

5 th Grade Math and Reading performance by K attendance for children living In poverty. Academic performance was lower even if attendance had improved in 3 rd grade.

52 50 48 46 44 42 Reading Math 40 0-3.3% in K 3.3 - 6.6% in K 6.6-10.0% in K Absence Rate in Kindergarten >=10.0% in K

Source: ECLS-K data analyzed by National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) Note: Average academic performance reflects results of direct cognitive assessments conducted for ECLS-K.

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Multiple Years of Elementary Chronic Absence = Worse Middle School Outcomes Each year of chronic absence in elementary school is associated with a substantially higher probability of chronic absence in 6 th grade 18.0x

Increase in probability of 6 th grade chronic absence 5.9x

7.8x

• • Chronic absence in 1 with: st grade is also associated Lower 6 th scores grade test Higher levels of suspension Years of Chronic Absence in Grades 1-5

Oakland Unified School District SY 2006-2012, Analysis By Attendance Works

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By 6

th

grade, chronic absence predicts high school drop out.

60,0% 50,0% 40,0% 30,0% 20,0% 10,0% 0,0% 56,3% 41,6% 25,7% Severely Chronically Absent > 40 days absent Chronically Absent 20 to 39 days absent Not Chronically Absent < 20 days absent withdrew from school - likely dropped out High School Outcomes by Rates of Chronic Absenteeism in Sixth Grade (Baltimore City Public Schools, 1990-00 Sixth Grade Cohort) Source: Baltimore Education Research Consortium

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The Effects of Chronic Absence on Dropout Rates Are Cumulative With every year of chronic absenteeism, a higher percentage of students dropped out of school.

http://www.utahdataalliance.org/downloads/ChronicAbsenteeismResearchBrief.pdf

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Attendance Is Even More Important For Graduation for Students In Poverty Presentation to: The Interagency Council for Ending the Achievement Gap November 7, 2013, CT State Dept of Education.

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What Do We Know About Chronic Absence in [

Insert your community

]?

What Does Chronic Absence Look Like in Our District?

Sample District-wide Chronic Absence Data, Single Year 60% 50% 40% 30% PLACEHOLDER

20%

If it is available, add in your district data here.

22% 25% 33%

20% 10% 0% Sharing data with stakeholders is a helpful– but not necessary-- step for designing a community action plan. If you do not have chronic absence data available, feel free to delete this slide.

14% 27% 27% 24% 15% 12% 19% 11% 10% 11% 7% 6% 2% 1% 2% 2% 4% 1% 1% 2% 3% 6%

Grade K Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10Grade 11Grade 12

PERCENT severe chronic absence PERCENT chronic absence

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Is Chronic Absence Increasing or Decreasing Over Time?

Sample District-wide Chronic Absence Data, 3-Year Trend 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 53% 49% 47% 51% 48% 49% PLACEHOLDER 42% 41% 44% 36% If it is available, add in your district data here. 29% Sharing data with stakeholders is a helpful– but not necessary-- step for designing a community action plan. If you do not have chronic absence data available, feel free to delete this slide. 15% 15% 14% 20% 13% 12% 9% 8% 9% 6% 7% 8% 4% 9% 6% 5% 5% 5% 6% 7% 0% Grade K Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12

2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 15

Are Certain Subgroups of Students More Affected By Chronic Absence?

Sample District-wide Data, Single Year by Gender 60% 50% 40% 0% 60% 50% PLACEHOLDER 0% 33% 60% 50% 40% 0% 35% 39% 30% 20% Sharing data with stakeholders is a helpful– but not necessary-- step for designing a community 16% 13% 20% 19% 20% 10% 10% 10% Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls -10% -10% -10% Elementary Middle High Moderate Chronic Absence Severe Chronic Absence

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Are Certain Subgroups of Students More Affected By Chronic Absence?

Sample Data, Percentage of Students Chronically Absent in Each Grade, by Race/Ethnicity 30,0% PLACEHOLDER 25,0% If it is available, add in your district data here. Hispanic/La tino 20,0% action plan. If you do not have chronic absence data available, feel free to delete this slide. African Amer White 15,0% Asian 10,0% Other 5,0% 0,0%

Grade K Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 17

Find Out Why Students Are Chronically Absent Myths

Absences are only a problem if they are unexcused Sporadic versus consecutive absences aren’t a problem Attendance only matters in the older grades

Barriers

Chronic disease Lack of access to health or dental care Poor transportation No safe path to school

Aversion

Child struggling academically Lack of engaging instruction Poor school climate and ineffective school discipline Parents had negative school experience 18

Site-Level Strategies for Building a Culture of Attendance & Identifying Barriers

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Local Examples of Effective Practice

• If there are schools in your district that have improved attendance and are maintaining low levels of chronic absence, consider asking them to share what they do

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Increased Attendance Involves a 3-Tiered Approach that Fits with Most Reform Efforts Students who were chronically absent in prior year or starting to miss 20% or more of school Recovery Programs High Cost Students at risk for chronic absence Intervention Programs A small fraction of a school’s students Some of a school’s students All students in the school Universal/Preventive Programs All of a school’s students Low Cost

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Ingredients for System-wide Success & Sustainability

Option A – use this diagram or the version on the next slide Community District Conveys why building a habit of attendance is important and what chronic absence is Positive Messaging Schools Actionable Data Students & Families Is accurate, accessible, and regularly reported Ensures monitoring & incentives to address chronic absence Shared Accountability Capacity Building Strategic partnerships between district and community partners address specific attendance barriers and mobilize support for all ingredients Expands ability to interpret data and work together to adopt best practices

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Ingredients for System-wide Success & Sustainability

Option B – use this diagram or the version on the Site-Level Strategies previous slide Positive Messaging Conveys why building a habit of attendance is important and what chronic absence is Actionable Data Is accurate, accessible, and regularly reported Capacity Building Expands ability to interpret data and work together to adopt best practices Shared Accountability Ensures monitoring and incentives and sets expectations for school leaders and teachers to address chronic absence Strategic Partnerships between schools, agencies, and community partners address attendance barriers and mobilize support for all ingredients

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What Comes Next?

1. Take a moment to reflect and react to the strategies discussed in this deck 2. Work through the District Self-Assessment Exercise, individually and then as a group

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