By Stan Nicol, Data Analysis and School Accountability
Chronic absence, defined as students missing 10% (about18 days) or more of a school year continues to be an issue for most Ohio’s schools. During the pandemic families were told to keep their children home. Now, as we continue to emerge from the lockdowns, students are not attending at pre-pandemic rates. Looking at “All Students” we see that Community Schools display at a higher absence rate than traditional district schools. Figure 1 shows the trend of Chronic Abs. rates going back to the 2018-19 school year.
The data show larger absence issues with Community schools. A deeper dive into the data reveals that students identified as “Disadvantaged” demonstrate higher chronic absence than non-disadvantaged students. Students eligible for “Free and/or Reduced-Price Lunch”, receiving “Public Assistance” or are identified through a “Title I Application” are considered disadvantaged. Figure 2 shows the percentage of students identified as disadvantaged for the 2022-23 school year.
Buckeye Community Hope Foundation (BCHF) serves a much higher population of disadvantaged students than both the state and all community schools combined. Filtering the data to disadvantaged students we see a similar chronic absence pattern. Figure 3 shows disadvantaged student attendance rates.
Chronic Absence and its Effect on Academics
Data compiled by BCHF shows a strong correlation between attendance and academic performance. Table 1 below shows the proficiency rate as measured by the Ohio State Tests, for students based on four chronic absence rate categories (preliminary 2023-24 results).
Stay Focused
BCHF has identified attendance as an issue and has taken steps to maintain a focus on the data. Starting in the 2023-24 school year and continuing during the 2024-25 school year, we will be maintaining a focus on attendance as a high priority issue. Each month we send out an Attendance Notification report showing the monthly attendance rates as collected by our school compliance representatives. We see small improvements but the journey ahead is still exceptionally long.
What Can Schools Do?
Chronic absenteeism is a multi-faceted problem. Schools should focus on the identification of each students’ issues and barriers to regular school attendance. Schools must alo collaborate with parent/guardians at the start of each school year emphasizing the importance of attendance. Start the year focused on good attendance! Additional information for improving attendance can be found at: Attendance Support | Ohio Department of Education and Workforce