The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning…

This study examines the issues surrounding middle school students' transitions to high school and the degree to which freshman orientation models can help them. The attendance, discipline, report card grades, and end-of-course exams of 60 students who participated in a freshman orientation were compared to those of 150 students who were invited to…

Consistent school attendance is a key foundation of student learning. While missing one or two school days each year is not likely to have serious consequences, chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of enrolled school days) can seriously undermine the learning process (Allensworth & Easton, 2007). Given national efforts to increase the…

For many years, the Kauffman Foundation has focused efforts on improving educa­tion for children in Kansas City. Prior to opening the Kauffman School, the Kauffman Foundation operated several programs that addressed the challenges faced in urban education, such as Project Early (an early childhood program), Project Choice (a high school dropout…

Student retention has become increasingly important as student numbers continue to rise. Early identification of those students who are disengaging from their course is crucial if steps are to be taken to turn this around. Attendance data from the compulsory aspects of courses were gathered on a centrally held database during teaching week six of…

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is an influential and rapidly growing nationwide network of charter schools serving primarily disadvantaged minority students. Prominent elements of KIPP's educational model include high expectations for student achievement and behavior, and a substantial increase in time in school. KIPP is being watched…

While policymakers have been directing considerable attention to teacher effectiveness, one basic aspect of effectiveness has received relatively little attention: teacher attendance. No matter how engaging or talented teachers may be, they can only have an impact on student learning if they are in the classroom. This paper asks a simple question:…

Students' ability to succeed academically in the school setting depends heavily on factors that students face outside of the school walls. One such contributor is the presence of a safe environment for students to travel to and from school. Unfortunately, for many students in urban and economically depressed environments, the daily commute to and…

In January 2013, the governor proposed a new funding model for California school districts called the Local Control Funding Formula. As the Legislature debates the proposed new funding model for schools, which is expected to start in the 2013-14 fiscal year, the author thought it would be a good time for a history lesson in California school…

A study was conducted to investigate factors that affect students' poor performance in physical science examinations at Malawi School Certificate of Education and Junior Certificate of Education levels in Community day secondary schools (CDSS) in Lilongwe Rural West Education District in Malawi. Students' performance was collected from schools'…

This brief maps the national attendance gap--the who, what, when, where and why of absenteeism--using research drawn from national sources as well as attendance data gathered across states from students taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Health emerges again and again, both as a challenge and as a solution to improving…

Utilizing disaggregated data from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Educational Research Data Center (ERDC), this report offers a deeper and more nuanced perspective on the educational realities of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students and reinforces the need for disaggregated data to unmask the…

Since the first schoolhouse was built and students came through the doors, educators have had to figure out ways to get them there on time and keep them coming back. Truancy and its sibling, tardiness, have many detrimental campus impacts that tax classroom planning and school budgets. Education is compulsory for all children in the United States.…

This article emerged as a case study from a fact-finding mission of a joint programme between the Centre for Commonwealth Education (CCE) in Cambridge University and the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) in University of Cape Coast, Ghana, to embed innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the basic schools of…

Many schools have recently experimented with moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom. We examine whether such a program increases achievement, grades, and attendance rates. We exploit quasi-random timing of program implementation that allows for a difference-in-differences identification strategy. We find that providing breakfast in…