This brief highlights the importance of using a measure like chronic absenteeism, rather than average daily attendance, in order to identify concerning patterns in elementary attendance rates. The chronic absenteeism measurement is better able to shine a light on the number of individual students struggling with attendance. Subsequent briefs in…

The After-School Corporation (TASC) works to build education enrichment into an expanded school day because extra time spent in engaging learning activities leads to better outcomes in school and beyond. There's one month, however, when students in many schools lose learning time: June. In 2013, NYC elementary and middle schools saw their average…

Currently, there are more than 1.35 million children and youth experiencing homelessness enrolled in schools across the nation. Students experiencing homelessness are more likely to suffer academically and are less likely to finish school when compared to their housed peers. Homeless students are less likely to engage in school, more likely to…

Using uniquely detailed individual-level data on transportation provided to all New York City public school students, we examine the relationship between transportation use and school quality for elementary school students (K-5). We find that students who attend choice schools are more likely to use transportation (either school bus or free public…

Research on the effectiveness of educational inputs, particularly research on teacher effectiveness, typically overlooks teachers' potential impact on behavioral outcomes, such as student attendance. Using longitudinal data on teachers and students in North Carolina I estimate teacher effects on primary school student absences in a value-added…

This Statistics in Brief investigates some factors that may contribute to achievement gaps in the summer after kindergarten, including differences in children's experiences, such as participation in summer care arrangements, programs, and activities. Specifically, the brief describes students' summer nonparental care arrangements, program…

The purpose of this two-group descriptive efficacy study was to explore the relationship between school configuration and academic and non-academic outcomes of sixth grade elementary students compared to academic and non-academic outcomes of sixth grade middle school students. The independent variable is the school configuration. Group 1 includes…

This brief examines absences in September and students' attendance over the rest of the year. Attendance should be addressed before it becomes problematic. Chronic absenteeism, missing more than 20 days of a school year, is an early indicator of disengagement. High absence rates have negative consequences not only for individual students, but also…

Fully two-thirds of U.S. fourth graders are not reading proficiently, national assessments show. The numbers are even more dire for students from low-income families: 80 percent of them have not reached proficiency. Amid the search for solutions -- whether through better instruction, improved curriculum or third-grade retention policies --…

When troubling attendance data in New Britain, Conn., caught district leaders by surprise, they reconsidered their focus on truancy in the older grades and turned their attention on their elementary schools. With support from local philanthropy and assistance from Attendance Works, the district significantly reduced the incidence of chronic…

Purpose - This investigation determined how students with Learning Disabilities (LD) navigate the difficult transition from grade 8 to grade 9 compared to their non-disabled peers. This longitudinal study assessed group and grade differences on three observable, measurable factors found to be important for school success in grades 7 through 10.…

This study aims to explore Bayesian multilevel modeling to investigate variations of average academic achievement of grade eight school students. A sample of 636 students is randomly selected from 26 private and government schools by a two-stage stratified sampling design. Bayesian method is used to estimate the fixed and random effects. Input and…

Professional dispositions are an important component in teacher education programs. Therefore, it is important that teacher education candidates and teacher educators agree on what dispositions mean, understand how dispositions will be assessed, and agree on how they are portrayed. This study compared dispositional self-assessments from 248…

The quest to improve student achievement has been the catalyst for some of the most significant education reform in the last century. From the earliest school structures of the 19th and 20th century; initially created to assure the ideals of the Americas were translated to new immigrants, to the most recent laws of the 21st century; systems for…

While Honduras's post-1990s enrolment status has improved, no reports examine changes in status. We examined changes in enrolment patterns by analysing 1689 children's data using the true cohort method. We also analysed educational-development strategies/policies and project documentation. Grade-failure numbers did not improve over time because…