What the research tells us about chronic absenteeism:
Chronic absenteeism is linked to a host of poor outcomes for students including:
- low reading performance
- discipline issues
- dropping out of school
- low graduation rates
More specifically:
- Attendance matters as early as kindergarten. Studies show that children who miss too many days in kindergarten and first grade have trouble learning to read.
- A child with too many absences by grade 6 is a good indication that the student is at risk of dropping out.
- By grade 9, good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than eighth-grade test scores.
- Good attendance is an important life skill that will help students graduate from high school, college and keep a job.