ToolsforUnderstandingChronicAbsenteeism

AmberHumm BrundageAbrundage@usf.edu

Facebook:flpsrtiTwitter:@flpsrti

http://floridarti.usf.edu/resources/presentations/index.html

Advance Organizer & Objectives

• Chronic Absenteeism Overview

• RCA & RCA-P Findings • Implications for Practice• Questions

• Participantswill:• Understandchronicabsenteeism

• Howitismeasuredandcontributors• UnderstandthefeaturesandfindingsofRCAsurveystudies

• Understandhowthesetoolsmaybeusedindistricts/schools

Chronic Absenteeism

ChronicAbsenteeism(CA)

• No standard definition• Often based on total number of

days missed• Does not differentiate reasons for

absences• Includes: excused, unexcused and

suspensions• Frequently defined as:

• Missing 10% or more of instructional days

• HB7069 K-8 EWS• FL reports students missing 21 or

more days per year• Missing 15 or more days of

school per year

• Important Differences -• Truancy =unexcusedabsences(s.1003.26(b),F.S.)

• AverageDailyAttendance=howmanystudentsshowupeachday

• ChronicAbsence=missingsomuchschoolforanyreasonthatastudentisacademicallyat-risk-missing10%ormoreofschool

AverageDailyAttendanceandCA

PrevalenceofChronicAbsenteeism• Based on national research, conservative estimates:

• 10% of US students miss 21+ days of school per year• 14-15% of US students miss 18+ days of school per year

5-7.5 million students each year!!

• 13/14 OCR data found 6.8 million students missed 15+ days of school

Balfanz&Byrnes,2012;U.S.DepartmentofEducation,OfficeforCivilRights,2016

EasytoOverlookPatternsofChronicAbsenceinIndividualStudents

GetSchooledInteractivewebpage:

https://getschooled.com/dashboard/tool/343-attendance-counts?type=tool

MakeAPrediction….

• HowmanyFLstudentsmissed21+daysofschoolduringthe15/16schoolyear?1. 50,000orfewer2. 50,000- 100,0003. 100,000-200,0004. 200,000-250,0005. 250,000-300,0006. 300,000-350,000

Prevalence ofCAinFL

• AccordingtodatareportedtoFLDOEduringthe2015/2016schoolyear,10.10%ofK-12studentswereabsent21+days

318,787 students- anincreasefrom304,060studentsin14/15

2015-16District21+AbsenceRates

Source:EducationInformationandAccountabilityServices,FloridaDepartmentofEducation

0 – 9.9%

10% – 14.9%

15% – 19.9%

20% – 30+%

Statewide Average 10.10%

Whatdoes318,787studentslooklike?

82,300

88,548-90,000+ 65,657

76,100

PatternsinChronicAbsence AcrossGradeLevels

• RatestypicallydropafterKindergartenthrough5th

• Risesignificantlyinmiddleandhighschool

Balfanz&Byrnes,2012

ChronicAbsenteeismbyDemographics

Balfanz &Byrnes,2012

2015-16SWDChronicAbsenteeismRates

Source:EducationInformationandAccountabilityServices,FloridaDepartmentofEducation

0 – 9.9%

10% – 14.9%

15% – 19.9%

20% – 30+%

Statewide Average 15.05%

What are the Implications of CA?

Missing10percentormoreofinstructionaldayshassignificantimpactonstudentoutcomes.Chronic

absenteeismisassociatedwith:

Decreasedreadinglevelsandoverallacademic

performance

Decreasedon-timegraduationratesandpost-secondaryenrollment

Increaseddropoutrates

(Balfanz&Byrnes,2012;Chang&Romero,2008)

Problem Solving Chronic Absenteeism

Missing 10% or more of instructional days

RCA: aggregate and individual

Intervention based on reasons for absences

Use EWS to monitor attendance

ProposedReasonsforChronicAbsenteeism

Balfanz & Byrnes (2012)

Barriers/Can’t Aversions/Won’t Disengagement/Don’t

Something prevents them from attending

(illness, transportation,

child care or family obligations)

Avoidance of interactions or

events at school (affective or perceptions

physical/psychological safety issues,

school climate, stress)

Would rather be somewhere else, do not make the effort to attend

school and/or do not see the value

in school

Toolstounpackchronicabsenteeism:RCA&RCA-P

ReasonsforChronicAbsenteeism(RCA)

• Self-reportsurveyforchronicallyabsent6th-12th

• Completedonline• Measuresthereasonsforchronicabsenteeism

• Designedforuseattheaggregateorindividualleveltoinformdata-basedproblemsolvingandinterventiondevelopment

ReasonsforChronic Parent(RCA-P)

• Self-reportsurveyforparents*ofchronicallyabsentPreK-12students

• Completedonline• Measuresreasonsforchronicabsenteeism

• Parent&studentfocuseditems• Designedforuseattheaggregateorindividualleveltoinformdata-basedproblemsolvingandinterventiondevelopment

WhyTheseInstruments?

• To develop interventions aimed at reducing absences:• Accurate understanding of why students are not coming to school• Need comprehensive and efficient tools

• PreK Parents• K-12 Parent• 6th-12th Students

ContentDomains

Barriers• Health• Transportation• Housing/MaterialInstability

• AdultResponsibilities

• Suspensions• Court/DJJ

Aversions• Bullying/Harassment

• PersonalStress• SchoolStress• SchoolClimate• Safety/Conflict

Disengagement• ValueofSchool

ScoringRubricFor each survey item, students or parents rate the item as:

0 ------------- 1 ------------- 2 ------------- 3Never Rarely Sometimes Usually

This is never a reason

you/your student

have/has missed school.

This is not very often a reason

you/your student

have/has missed school.

This is a reason

you/your student

have/has missed school

more than 3 times.

This is oftenthe reason you/your student

have/has missed school.

RCA&RCA-PSamples

RCASample RCA-PSample

8 states

21 district

s91

schools

5,790 students

2 states

5 Grantees

& 1 district

67 schools

1,124 Parents

Student/ParentResponseDataQuantitative Responses• Within each category (Heath Related, etc.), the

percentage of students/parents who endorsed items as “Sometimes” or “Usually” was totaled:

• Overall• By State• By District• By School

Qualitative Responses• For each open-ended item, student/parent

responses were coded into themes and the instances of a theme were totaled

QuantitativeResponsesbyCategory

StudentVersusParent PreK/HeadStartversusHighSchoolParent

1 123

45

2

34

5

1 12

3

4

5

2345

Overallvs SWDReportedReasonsforCA

Reason OverallPercentage SWD PercentageHealthRelated 92.6 91.4Transportation 53.0 57.7PersonalStress 41.8 42.6PreferredActivityOutsideofSchool 41.0 49.1ValueofSchool 38.8 46.4SchoolStress 34.8 44.7SchoolClimate 32.2 40.8Safety/Conflict 21.2 30.4AdultResponsibility 17.0 25.3LegalSystemInvolvement 15.6 26.2Housing/MaterialInstability 13.6 18.8Suspension 10.5 15.0

AccuratelyRecalled/ReportedAbsences

43.0%36.9% 36.2%

53.1%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Students Parents HS/PreKParents HighSchoolParents

Percen

tageofR

espo

nses

MESSAGING

PerceptionsofAbsences:ComparedtoPeers

23.9%15.3%

31.3%40.9%44.8% 43.8%

0102030405060708090

100

Students Parents

Percen

tageofR

espo

nses

Fewer

Same

More

Perception of Typical Numbers of Absences

Average Absences Per Year Parent Percentage

0-5 days 26.96-10 days 41.011-15 days 19.416-20 days 6.221+ days 6.5

68% of parents perceived average absence rates to be consistent with “good” attendance

GOODNEWS!

ParentLevelofConcernRelatedtoAbsences

49.5%

34.3%

16.3%

0102030405060708090

100

NotConcerned Somewhat Very

Percen

tageofR

espo

nses

LeveofConcernBADNEWS!

Student Reported Supports to Improve Attendance - 4525 ResponsesTop Responses

Supports Instances Mentioned

Level of Difficulty/ Strictness (Less homework, more fair rules, lenient dress code)

501

Illness Prevention 467Engaging Environment (More interesting/ fun, more hands-on) 462Improved Climate/Relationships (Nicer peers/adults, less drama, less bullying)

400

School schedule (Later start time, shorter classes, more time to pass between classes)

359

Academic Support (Tutoring, better teachers, help from teachers) 289

Unsure (I don’t know, not sure) 288

Parent Reported Supports to Improve Attendance - 639 Responses

Top Responses

Supports Instances Mentioned

Illness Prevention 135Transportation 114School Schedule (Later start time, shorter classes, more time to pass between classes)

29

Parent Support (Parentsupportforschoolattendance,persistenceintakingchildtoschool,supportfromfamilymembers,improvestimemanagement,utilizingafter-schoolhoursforchildren’smedicalappointments)

19

Unsure (I don’t know, not sure) 214

High School Parent Reported Supports to Improve Attendance - 118 Responses

Top Responses

Supports Instances Mentioned

School Schedule (Later school start time) 11Academic Support (Help from a teacher, individual attention) 9Engaging Environment (More interesting, fun, or hands-on instruction)

7

Tougher Consequences (Punishments for skipping school, misbehavior)

7

Climate/Relationships (Nicer peers/adults, more friends, less bullying)

5

HowDoWeAddressCA?

CollectDatatoAnalyzethe“Why”ofCA-forGroupsofStudents

PrioritizeResourcesImplementInterventionstoAddressthe“Why”:Health,

Transportation,Social/Emotional,SchoolClimateMonitorEffectivenessofInterventions(EWS:Attendance,

Grades,Graduation)

Attendance/CAGoalsConsistentAttendanceCollection(ClassroomProcedures)andMonitoring(EWS)

MessagingtoAllStakeholdersRe:Absences/AttendanceGoalsPolicy/PracticeAnalysis

Recognition/CelebrationofGood/ImprovedAttendanceHealthPromotionStrategies

ALL

SOME

FEW

CollectDatatoAnalyzethe“Why”ofCA-forIndividualStudentsImplementInterventionstoAddressthe“Why”:Health,Transportation,Social/Emotional,SchoolClimateConsiderWrap-AroundSupportsMonitorEffectivenessofInterventions(EWS:Attendance,Grades,Graduation

Implicationsforuse

• Howhavethesetoolsbeenusedinyourdistrict/school?• Howcanyouseethembeingusedinyourdistrictschool?

Howdidwedo?

• Participantswill:• Understandchronicabsenteeism

• Howitismeasuredandcontributors• UnderstandthefeaturesandfindingsofRCAsurveystudies• Understandhowthesetoolsmaybeusedindistricts/schools

Reflections

• Whataresometake-awaysfromtheparentandstudentsurveys?• Whatquestionsdoyouhave?• Whatareideasfornextsteps?

“Every problem has in it the seeds of it’s own solution”- Norman Vincent Peale

RESOURCES

ToolsforSelf-Reflection

School-Level• http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/School-Self-Assessment-Tool-revised-August-2014.pdf

District-Level• http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Community-Self-Assess-1-pager-April-15-Revised-2013-.pdf

ToolsforAnalyzingYourData

• http://www.attendanceworks.org/tools/tools-for-calculating-chronic-absence/

• http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DATT-and-SATT-flyer-8.16.16Final.pdf

ToolsforAnalyzingYourData:RCA

• http://www.floridarti.usf.edu/resources/topic/chronic_absenteeism/index.html

ToolsforMessaging:AttendanceWorks&NudgeLetters

http://awareness.attendanceworks.org/resources/count-us-toolkit-2017/

https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/absent-students-schools-attendance-nudge-letters/

ContactInformation

AmberBrundageCoordinatorResearch&Evaluationabrundage@usf.edu

Facebook:flpsrtiTwitter:@flpsrtihttp://floridarti.usf.edu/resources/presentations/index.html

AdditionalReadings

Allensworth,E.M.,&Easton,J.Q.(2005).Theon-trackindicatorasapredictorofhighschoolgraduation.ConsortiumonChicagoSchoolResearch,UniversityofChicago.Retrievedfromhttp://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/p78.pdf

Allensworth,E.M.,&Easton,J.Q.(2007).WhatmattersforstayingontrackandgraduatinginChicagopublichighschools. ConsortiumonChicagoSchoolResearch,UniversityofChicago.Retrievedfromhttp://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/07%20What%20Matters%20Final.pdf

Allesnworth,E.M.,Gwynne,J.A.,Moore,P.,&delaTorre,M.(2014).LookingforwardtohighschoolandcollegeMiddlegradesindicatorsofreadinessinChicagopublicschools.ConsortiumonChicagoSchoolResearch,UniversityofChicago.Retrievedfromhttps://ccsr.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Middle%20Grades%20Report.pdf

Balfanz,R.,&Byrnes,V.(2012).ChronicAbsenteeism:SummarizingWhatWeKnowFromNationallyAvailableData. Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniversityCenterforSocialOrganizationofSchools.

Balfanz,R.,Herzog,L.,MacIver,D.,(2007).Preventingstudentdisengagementandkeepingstudentsonthegraduationpathinurbanmiddle-gradesschools:Earlyidentificationandeffectiveinterventions. EducationalPsychologist,42(4),223-235.

AdditionalReadingsContinuedChang,Hedy N.&Romero,Mariajosé 2008.Present,engagedandaccountedforthe

criticalimportanceofaddressingchronicabsenceintheearlygrades.NationalCenterforChildreninPoverty(NCCP):TheMailmanSchoolofPublicHealthatColumbiaUniversity.

Connolly,F.&Olson,L.S.2012.EarlyelementaryperformanceandattendanceinBaltimoreCitySchools’pre-kindergartenandkindergarten.BaltimoreEducationResearchConsortium,Baltimore,MD.

Henderson,T.,Hill,C.&Norton,K.2014.Theconnectionbetweenmissingschoolandhealth:AreviewofchronicabsenteeismandstudenthealthinOregon.UpstreamPublicHealth.

Olson,L.S.,2014.WhySeptembermatters:Improvingstudentattendance.BaltimoreEducationResearchConsortium,Baltimore,MD.Retrievedfrom:http://baltimore-berc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/SeptemberAttendanceBriefJuly2014.pdf

Chang,H.,&Balfanz,R.,(2016).Preventingmissedopportunity:Takingcollectiveactiontoconfrontchronicabsence.AttendanceWorksandEveryoneGraduatesCenter.