This article used a rich longitudinal data set from four school districts in California to study absenteeism patterns among students classified as an English learner (EL). We looked at absence patterns overall and disaggregated by EL classification, grade level, and pre/post COVID-19. When their demographic and school-level factors are considered,…

As student homelessness grows, little is known about how the timing and duration of homeless experiences shape K-12 outcomes. Using Los Angeles Unified School District administrative data, the authors examine whether these temporal dimensions of homelessness predict students' achievement and attendance. The authors find that homeless students…

Students experiencing homelessness spend their nights in various settings, including shelters, with friends/families (doubled-up), motels/hotels, and unsheltered contexts. Yet there is limited quantitative research on how educational outcomes vary by residential context. We analyze data from over 400,000 students in Houston Independent School…

Many states mandate districts or schools notify parents when students have missed multiple unexcused days of school. We report a randomized experiment (N = 131,312) evaluating the impact of sending parents truancy notifications modified to target behavioral barriers that can hinder effective parental engagement. Modified truancy notifications that…

The adoption of telepresence technology in K-12 schools potentially expands students' access to course offerings and new ways of learning, but little is known about its implementation and promise for improving student outcomes. We employ a mixed-methods analysis to examine the experiences of students and teachers in telepresence courses in a…

This paper reports on the progress of users through 16 Coursera courses taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty for the first time between June 2012 and July 2013. Using descriptive analyses, this study advances knowledge by considering two definitions of massive open online course (MOOC) users (registrants and starters), comparing two…

This study examined the unique and combined associations of homelessness and school mobility with educational well-being indicators, as well as the mediating effect of absenteeism, for an entire cohort of third-grade students in Philadelphia. Using integrated archival administrative data from the public school district and the municipal Office of…

Students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) experience higher rates of victimization by bullying than do their heterosexual-identified peers. In this article, we investigate the extent to which this difference in rates of victimization can explain LGBTQ youths' greater rates of suicidal ideation, suicide…

This study investigated the unique relations between school concentrations of student risk factors and measures of reading, mathematics, and attendance. It used an integrated administrative data system to create a combined data set of risks (i.e., birth risks, teen mother, low maternal education, homelessness, maltreatment, and lead exposure) for…

This study finds that, compared with straight-identified youth, youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, victimization by peers, and elevated levels of unexcused absences from school. Results disaggregated by LGBTQ subgroups reveal heterogeneity…

In Merida, as in the United States, school choice and school characteristics appear to be based upon characteristics other than quality. Although when asked, parents and students seemed to think they were making the choice for academic reasons. (Author/AM)