Solving Chronic Absenteeism Through the Smarter Use of Data

States tie funding for Okay-12 college districts to day by day scholar attendance charges or different measures of enrollment, a hyperlink that makes it essential for policymakers to know that they’re getting correct measures for these metrics.

The out there knowledge counsel that continual absenteeism is an epidemic. States are paying consideration.

In 2021, 18 p.c of states included continual absenteeism for the earlier yr on state report playing cards—a determine that hit 33 p.c of states in 2022 and jumped to 80 p.c of them in 2023, in accordance with the Knowledge High quality Marketing campaign, a nonprofit advocacy group that helps state and college district leaders use training knowledge successfully.

“The pandemic really elevated continual absenteeism as a core coverage concern for lots of training leaders—and what we care about will get measured,” mentioned Rachel Anderson, vice chairman of the Knowledge High quality Marketing campaign, which supplies entry to knowledge for training decision-making.

“An elevated give attention to college students coming to highschool—and realizing that continual absenteeism was an actual downside—then translated into higher, extra public details about the problem.”

Anderson just lately spoke with EdWeek Market Transient Contributing Author Robin L. Flanigan about how states have been battling continual absenteeism, what some states have performed to reverse troubling traits, and the way distributors will help districts apply attendance knowledge to correcting the issue.

How lengthy has your group been conserving observe of continual absenteeism, and why is doing so necessary?

The Knowledge High quality Marketing campaign has been supporting states to make use of knowledge [on] continual absenteeism for nearly 20 years, so long as the group has existed. Whereas we aren’t singularly centered on absenteeism knowledge, we’ve at all times been singularly centered on this concept that knowledge ought to be an accessible device to vary selections.

Power absenteeism knowledge is uniquely useful as a result of it illuminates bigger considerations and questions. The info itself doesn’t let you know a lot, however it permits you to ask a unique set of questions on why there’s a continual absenteeism downside. Is it as a result of there are well being considerations locally? Is it as a result of there isn’t sufficient transportation? Are there questions of safety with youngsters coming to highschool?

What do state report playing cards appear to be, and what’s your evaluation of how dependable they’re?

We have a look at whether or not these report playing cards are only a checklist of numbers or a spreadsheet, or really a device that would assist information dad and mom via a collection of questions and solutions to assist perceive how a college is doing. And what we persistently discover is that states often don’t embrace federally required data on these report playing cards—and so they’re additionally not utilizing them as a useful gizmo.

They as an alternative are a compliance train for reporting data. Usually the info is incomplete or outdated, and on the whole isn’t geared towards serving to households perceive what’s really happening.

Legally, states are required to place out continual absence knowledge for each single college, however that is definitely not at all times being performed.

Might you describe the position COVID has performed on this attendance development?

Within the 2021-22 college yr, 30 p.c of scholars nationwide had been chronically absent, in accordance with Attendance Works. While you evaluate that to the 2018-19 college yr—simply earlier than the pandemic—that’s almost double the share.

So not solely did the beginning of COVID trigger an infinite enhance in continual absences, however even now that faculties have reopened we haven’t seen that price come again down. In actual fact, for the 2022-23 college yr, analysis from FutureEd discovered solely marginal enhancements of lower than 5 proportion factors in comparison with the yr earlier than.

What accounts for the enhancements in attendance within the states which have seen them in recent times?

Simply having the info itself doesn’t do something. The place we’re seeing states and communities make actual progress is the place they’ve knowledge and are utilizing it as half of a bigger plan to deal with continual absenteeism. They’re utilizing it to have various kinds of conversations internally, have various kinds of conversations with households, and have extra public conversations about attendance.

One instance is Rhode Island, which has introduced down its continual absenteeism price fairly a bit over the past two years. It has a Scholar Attendance Leaderboard, a device that’s up to date day by day and exhibits the variety of college students enrolled in every college and the quantity on observe to be chronically absent. Whereas college leaders and policymakers can use the dashboard, it’s additionally out there to the general public on the Rhode Island Division of Schooling web site.

What different states are making sensible use of absenteeism knowledge, in your view?

Connecticut elevated attendance by 15 p.c in 2021-22 for chronically absent college students due to the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program [it] acquired via federal funding. It’s designed to construct relationships with households via dwelling visits and focused interventions, somewhat than simply saying, “We’ve a continual absentee downside. Please, everybody, come to highschool.”

They’d funding, time, data and path to do outreach with households and have conversations about why it was arduous to come back to highschool and what helps could be wanted. They noticed this program was profitable and now allocate various state funding to it.

What separated these state approaches from others you’ve seen?

State management is necessary, however so is having a method to work together with and perceive knowledge. Even in states which have robust knowledge techniques, recordkeeping and administration, it may be actually tough to take motion with knowledge until you’re capable of put it in a visualization device—one that’s customizable and in addition brings collectively knowledge from completely different sources—that permits you to perceive what you’re . That may’t be overstated.

You’ve mentioned knowledge assortment can make clear bigger challenges dealing with a college. Please elaborate.

The impacts of continual absenteeism are felt not simply by the scholars who’re absent, however by the remainder of the varsity as effectively. It could actually spotlight well being challenges or transportation issues or questions of safety.

And if the info is used as a place to begin to have interaction with households and ask extra questions on causes behind an issue, it may possibly change into a very highly effective supply of knowledge for altering coverage throughout the college, and even on the district or state stage.

How can training distributors assist with knowledge, when states usually have completely different definitions of what it means to be chronically absent?

Native faculties and districts want platforms or reporting processes which can be attentive to their state definitions. Distributors may have to have the ability to alter a few of their reporting fields, relying on what state they’re working in.

We additionally need faculties to have the ability to disaggregate knowledge by completely different scholar populations. For instance, it could be necessary to know if college students in a sure a part of the district usually tend to be chronically absent, which could require a transportation repair. States and faculties are going to wish longitudinal knowledge, the place they will see not simply how college students are at present doing however how they did final yr as effectively.

What different components of knowledge assortment and evaluation are lacking from the market?

We’re additionally going to see states in search of knowledge platforms that enable them to attach various kinds of knowledge. They’ll wish to pull collectively attendance knowledge alongside tutorial knowledge and take a look at rating data, and in addition nonacademic data like tutoring or childcare or afterschool programming.

A nationwide ballot earlier this yr discovered that two causes for continual absenteeism are scholar boredom and psychological well being challenges. Can knowledge assist faculties overcome these issues?

Power absence knowledge generally is a actually highly effective a part of different initiatives. For instance, early warning techniques carry collectively attendance knowledge, course-grade knowledge, and suspension knowledge to assist educators establish college students who’re susceptible to dropping out.

The concept is that college leaders attain out to college students earlier than they’re off observe and assist individualize interventions.

What recommendation would you give to distributors making an attempt to assist districts make smarter use of knowledge?

They need to get a way from educators of the questions they’re making an attempt to reply, what knowledge they want, and the way they wish to have a look at this knowledge as a way to take motion. This can be a subject that’s entrance of thoughts for a lot of educators, college leaders and district leaders proper now. They’ll have great perception into how platforms will be most useful to them.

What are your ideas in regards to the White Home taking actions to stop continual absenteeism?

The White Home needs states to offer the general public with up-to-date data on continual absence traits, to offer educators with school-level knowledge that helps them perceive the foundation causes of continual absence of their group, and to offer households with real-time data on their very own baby’s attendance.

The administration calls on scholar data system distributors to make scholar attendance knowledge extra out there and helpful, and to make sure their merchandise make this knowledge interoperable, exportable, and shareable. States and districts will likely be in search of distributors who can meet these wants.