Chronic Absence in the Early Grades

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Chronic Absence in the Early Grades

• An Applied Research Project Funded by the Annie
  E. Casey Foundation
• (April 2008)

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What is Chronic Early Absence?

• Chronic early absence occurs when K-3rd graders
  miss 10 or more days (nearly a month) in a
  school year including excused and unexcused
  absences. National research found that this
  level of school absence was associated with lower
  academic performance.

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Why Does It Matter

• Chronic absence in elementary school is
  associated with negative outcomes including low
  academic achievement,i school truancy and drop
  out,ii iii delinquencyiv and substance
  abuse.v
• The educational experience of regularly attending
  children can be adversely affected when teachers
  must divert their attention to meet the learning
  and social needs of chronically absent children
  when they return to school.
• Chronic early absence could be a critical tool
  for identifying troubled children, families or
  educational institutions early on before problems
  are more difficult to ameliorate.
• i Lamden, D. (2001). Evidence of student
  attendance as an independent variable in
  education production function. Journal of
  Educational Research. 893 p. 155-162.
• ii McCluskey, C., Bynum, R., Patchin, J.
  (2004). Reducing chronic absenteeism An
  assessment of an early truancy initiative. Crime
  and Delinquency 502 p. 214-234. Robins, L.
  and Ratcliff, K. (1980). The long-term outcome
  of truancy. In Hersov, L. Berg, I. (Eds.) Out
  of school Modern perspectives in truancy and
  school refusal. p. 65-83.
• iii Alexander, K, Entwisle, D. Horsey, C.
  (1997) From first grade forward Early
  foundations of high school dropout. Sociology of
  Education. 702 p. 87-107.
• iv Loeber, R. Farrington, D. (2000). Young
  children who commit crime Epidemiology,
  developmental origins, risk factors, early
  intervention, and policy implications.
  Development and Psychopathology 12 p. 737-762.
• v Hawkins, J. Catalano, R. (1992) Communities
  that care Action for drug abuse prevention. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass.

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Why is chronic early absence often overlooked?

• It lies hidden within typically high elementary
  school attendance rates.
• Typically schools only track data on attendance
  and truancy (unexcused absence).
• School data systems may underestimate prevalence
  of chronic absence they do not electronically
  track absences for individual children.
• Communities may be less concerned that young
  children (as opposed middle or high school
  students) will cause trouble if they miss school.

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Applied Research Project Goals

• Understand the impact, scale and scope of chronic
  early absence
• Identify factors contributing to chronic early
  absence
• Find promising programs and practices
• Determine implications of chronic early absence
  for practice, policy and research

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Key Research Activities

• Analysis of national Early Childhood Longitudinal
  Study data to assess impact, prevalence and risk
  factors for chronic early absence by the National
  Center for Children in Poverty
• Examination of early absenteeism patterns in 9,
  mostly urban, localities by grade and for
  particular populations (ELL, gender, low-income
  and special education)
• Review of relevant literature
• Interviews with practitioners and researchers on
  promising programs and practices

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Preliminary Findings

• Supported by National Local Research

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• 1. Chronic absence in Kindergarten is associated
  with lower academic performance in 1st grade
  among all children, and most significantly for
  Latino youngsters.

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• 2. The longer term relationship to academic
  performance depends upon income. Chronic absence
  in kindergarten is associated with low 5th grade
  achievement for poor children but not their
  better-off peers.

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• 3. An estimated one in ten kindergarten and first
  grade students are chronically absent nationally.
  Prevalence of chronic early absence varied
  markedly across the nine localities we studied,
  ranging from just over 5 to more than 25 of the
  students K-3. Within districts, prevalence of
  chronic early absence also differed widely across
  schools. (In one locality, it ranged from 1 to
  54.5).

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• 4. Chronic early absence decreases between
  kindergarten and third grade nationally and in
  all localities.

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• 5. Nationally, incidence of chronic early absence
  was generally higher among students of color,
  especially Native Americans. Among localities
  studied, different ethnic groups (in some cases,
  whites) had the highest rates.

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• 6. Chronic early absence is associated with
  living in poverty.
• 7. Multiple maternal and family risks ( e.g.
  living in poverty, teen motherhood, single
  parenting, low maternal education, unemployment,
  poor maternal health, and multiple siblings) are
  associated with high levels of chronic early
  absence.

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• 8. Among children in poor health, absences in
  the early grades increase significantly among
  families between 200-300 of poverty.

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• 9. Chronic early absence is lower among children
  who spent the year prior to kindergarten in a
  center or with a non-relative caregiver.
• 10. Participation in full day (vs. half-day)
  kindergarten seems to lessen the negative impact
  of chronic absence in kindergarten among poor
  children.
• 11. Local data suggests further research should
  be conducted to examine whether chronic early
  absence is less prevalent among English Language
  Learners and more common among children with
  different types of disabilities.

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Possible Factors Contributing to Chronic Early
Absence
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An Ecological Child Development Perspective

• Drawing from insights gained from our
  quantitative research, a literature review and
  interviews with practitioners researchers, we
  propose adopting an ecological framework.
  Whether children attend school regularly reflects
  how well their environmentsincluding family,
  schools, community, culture, and
  societyadequately address their needs. When
  chronic early absence occurs, it is important to
  consider the extent to which schools, families
  and communities all might play a contributing
  role.

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SCHOOL RELATED FACTORS

• Is chronic early absence an indication that
  schools...
• do not monitor absences, communicate the
  importance of attendance or reach out to families
  when children miss extended periods of time?
• are not effectively engaging parents in their
  childrens education, including drawing upon
  family assets and cultural resources?
• are not providing a high quality, engaging and
  safe educational experience?

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FAMILY RELATED FACTORS

• Is chronic early absence an indication that
  families...
• are poor and lack the resources (transportation,
  food, clothing, etc) to ensure their children
  regularly attend school?
• have difficulty addressing and managing chronic
  illness among children?
• have not developed effective parenting skills for
  promoting school success including supporting
  regular school attendance in the early grades?
• have a history of negative experiences with
  education and may not feel welcome in school?
• face multiple risks and, in some cases, serious
  problems such as domestic abuse, mental illness,
  drug addiction or incarceration?
• are highly mobile?

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COMMUNITY RELATED FACTORS

• Is chronic early absence an indication that
  communities...
• do not provide adequate support to help young
  children and families make a positive transition
  into elementary school?
• are severely distressed and lack formal or
  informal supports to promote the positive
  development of children including regular school
  attendance?
• experience high levels of violence that adversely
  affect family functioning and getting children to
  school safely?

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Synthesis

• Drawn from insights gained from our quantitative
  research, a literature review and interviews with
  practitioners researchers, these hypothesis
  are not mutually exclusive. Contributing factors
  can vary across families, schools, and
  communities. A high prevalence in a school or
  district may reflect the presence of more
  systemic issues.

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Potential Implications for Action
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A. Data Collection Tracking

• All school districts should
• Include absences among the data elements tracked
  with a universal student identifier, including
  among elementary school children.
• Regularly calculate and report on the number of
  children chronically absent including excused and
  unexcused absences by grade and school.
• Adopt a common definition of chronic absence
  (missing 10 or more of the school year school
  year regardless of whether absences are excused
  or unexcused).
• Identify any schools or demographic group
  experiencing high levels of chronic early
  absence. For these schools and groups, gather
  quantitative and qualitative data to gain a
  deeper understanding of the contributing factors
  so that appropriate responses can be developed.

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B. Programmatic Response

• Schools can partner with families and community
  agencies to
• Contact families promptly when children are
  absent and, as needed, provide long-term case
  management along with social medical and economic
  supports
• Offer incentives for attendance to all children
• Create opportunities for parents and children to
  help each other attend school regularly.
• Educate parents about the importance of school
  attendance starting in kindergarten, or even
  earlier through early childhood programs

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B. Programmatic Response (Cont.)

• Schools can partner with families and community
  agencies to
• Use legal threats and action, only as a last
  resort, to reach the hardest to serve families
• Improve schools so they effectively engage
  families and offer a high quality education.
• Embed attention to chronic early absence in
  relevant community supports ranging from after
  school programs to school readiness or drop-out
  prevention initiatives to school based health
  programs.

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C. Research

• Additional helpful research could include
• Longitudinal data analysis to examine long-term
  academic and social outcomes for children
  chronically absent in the early grades.
• An assessment of the prevalence and impact of
  chronic early absence on children living outside
  of urban areas, especially in rural communities.
• Analysis of the relationship between teacher
  absenteeism and chronic early absence among
  students
• An examination of children with troubling
  attendance patterns to find out if they can be
  identified in preschool or earlier
• A multi-site study to determine how chronic early
  absences is affected by a variety of family,
  school and community variables.

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Discussion

• Do these findings resonate with you?
• What do you think are the implications of chronic
  early absence for community schools?