Foundational reading skills are key to the mastery of early literacy skills. While the process of reading is characterized by a combination of both word decoding skills and language comprehension, there are many reading skills that contribute to students being able to proficiently read text. In addition to mastery of skills, good school attendance has proven necessary to student achievement of grade level standards. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10% of a school year, has negative impacts. Research has shown that students must be present to master skills. Research has also shown that effective foundational reading instruction follows a scope sequence and requires quality classroom instruction. This quantitative study investigated the impact of consecutive days absent, defined as five or more days in a row, on first and second grade students' mastery of foundational reading skills. This study examined the impact of consecutive absences on Lexile level measure, word recognition fluency rates, and passage reading rates. It was hypothesized that consecutive days absent (five or more days) would negatively impact first and second grade students' Lexile levels, word recognition rates, and passage reading fluency rates in a rural Title I elementary school. The results indicated there is a negative correlation between Lexile levels and consecutive absences. Additionally, consecutive absences were shown to have a 0.53 effect size on word recognition rates and passage reading rates. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]