What Providers Should Know About School Attendance

As the school year progresses, there are bound to be days when a student has to miss school. Missing some school is normal and often times unavoidable but missing too many days can have a ripple effect on students and their development. This article will share some facts about the importance of attending school and provide tips for speaking with families about attendance.

What is School Attendance or Absenteeism?

There are many reasons why children are missing school, whether they are not feeling well, getting poor sleep, or feeling worried or fear about going. As there are many different reasons why a student miss school, these different reasons are categorized:

• Excused Absences refer to days when a student misses school due to a religious observance, pre-arranged appointment, family emergency, or if the student is experiencing a short- or long-term illness. Schools typically require a note or documentation. 
  
  
• Unexcused Absences occur when no documentation or reason for an absence is provided, or if a student misses school for non-school activities, like a family vacation.
  
  
  • Truancy is another term for missing school days without an excuse.
• School refusal is when a student avoids attending school or struggles to stay in the classroom during the day.

In New York State, if a child misses 10% or more of the school year (which is about 18 days), they are considered chronically absent. Schools keep track of chronic absenteeism and report it to the Department of Education as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Under ESSA, chronic absenteeism is one way schools measure student success beyond test scores. ESSA allows schools to use other measures to assess how well students are doing and chronic absenteeism is a valid way to measure school performance and its impact on learning. To qualify as an ESSA indicator, the criteria must be valid and reliable, applicable to all students, comparable across state school districts, allow for differences in performance among schools to be detected, permit summarized and disaggregated data, and have a proven impact on achievement, all of which are criteria chronic absenteeism meets.

Why is Missing School a Problem and the Impact of Chronic Absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism has many long-term effects on students. It is useful to speak with caregivers to emphasize although missing one or two days here and there may not seem like a big deal, these can add up quickly and impact their child in many areas.

Research shows:

• Students who are absent often in pre-kindergarten are more likely to miss school days in future years.
  
  
• Chronic absenteeism leads to negative academic outcomes across grade levels, including poorer performance on standardized tests, and poorer achievement as they advance throughout their schooling. 
  
  
• Chronic absenteeism affects students’ social skills, such as interpersonal skills and self-efficacy, and can increase anxiety.
  
  
• Chronic absenteeism is linked to a higher risk of substance use, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. 

It is important to note all types of absences, whether excused or unexcused, count toward chronic absenteeism, and even excused absences can have negative impacts on a child’s education. 

Speaking with Families about Attendance

Find the Why

There are a number of reasons as to why a child may miss school. Asking questions to identify factors is crucial to building connection with families. Some of these factors include socioeconomic factors, access to transportation, housing or food, physical and mental health status, home, neighborhood, or community violence or trauma. It is also important to consider students’ feelings and attitudes toward school, as well as their caregivers’, in addition to their relationship with the school and staff. When providing recommendations to families, it is important to acknowledge the why and what is behind missing school.

Depending on factors contributing to absenteeism, you can better tailor recommendations to meet their unique needs, whether connecting them to community resources and supports available or giving them information on strengthening their relationship with the school.

• Reassure parents missing school due to illness is okay and help them understand when to keep their child home.  Encourage them to contact their doctor or school nurse if they are unsure or have questions. 
  
  
• Utilize the information above to explain the impact of missed school. Emphasize missing school days even in kindergarten and first grade can have lasting effects throughout a child’s school years.
  
  
• Emphasize the importance of regular attendance by using the common phrase “Every Day Counts!”

Working with Families Experiencing School Refusal

School refusal impacts many school-age kids. This is when a child avoids attending school or has difficulty staying in the classroom during the school day. Below are some strategies to try:

• Encourage caregivers to reach out to the school to have a conversation to ensure there is nothing within the school environment (setting, peers) being overlooked. If the child is old enough, caregivers should talk with them about what is holding them back from attending. 
  
  
• Encourage families to build a positive relationship with the teacher so the child can feel more connected and comfortable at school. 
  
  
• Oftentimes, school refusal may indicate some level of anxiety, referrals to either in-school or outpatient counseling services, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) specifically, may be appropriate if this is the case.

Share Accessible Resources with Families

Attendance Works (https://www.attendanceworks.org/) has free, evidence-based resources to use with families (and kids!) to teach the importance of attendance. These include handouts for families, and posters highlighting why attendance is important to keep in your office where caregivers can view them!

Key Terms: 

School Attendance is tracking students' presence at school. 

School Absenteeism is when student is not at school. 

Excused absences happen when a child misses school for reasons like a religious holiday, a family emergency, a medical appointment, or illness. Schools usually require a note or proof. 

Unexcused absences occur when there’s no note or valid reason provided, or if a child misses school for things like a family vacation. 

Truancy is missing school without an acceptable excuse. 

Chronic Absence refers to missing 10% or more of the school year. In New York State, that’s about 18 or more days of school during the year. 

School Refusal happens when a child avoids going to school or struggles to stay in class. 

References

• Anderson, S., & Romm, K. (2020). Absenteeism across the early elementary grades: The role of time, gender, and socioeconomic status. The Elementary School Journal, 121(2), 179-196. https://doi.org/10.1086/711053
• Ansari, A., & Gottfried, M. A. (2021). The grade‐level and cumulative outcomes of absenteeism. Child Development, 92(4), e548-e564. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13555
• Attendance Works. (2016). Chronic absence: Our top pick for the ESSA school quality or student success indicator. https://attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ESSA-Brief_083016-revised.pdf
• Chang, H. N., & Romero, M. (2008). Present, engaged, and accounted for, the critical importance of addressing chronic absence in the early grade. National Center for Children in Poverty. https://www.nccp.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/text_837.pdf
• Finning, K., Ukoumunne, O. C., Ford, T., Danielson‐Waters, E., Shaw, L., Romero De Jager, I., Stentiford, L., & Moore, D. A. (2019). The association between anxiety and poor attendance at school–a systematic review. Child and adolescent mental health, 24(3), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12322
• Gakh, M., Coughenour, C., Assoumou, B. O., & Vanderstelt, M. (2020). The relationship between school absenteeism and substance use: An integrative literature review. Substance Use & Misuse, 55(3), 491-502. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2019.1686021
• Gottfried, M. A. (2009). Excused versus unexcused: How student absences in elementary school affect academic achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 31(4), 392-415. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373709342467
• Gottfried, M., & Ansari, A. (2022). Classrooms with high rates of absenteeism and individual success: Exploring students’ achievement, executive function, and socio-behavioral outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 59, 215-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.11.008
• Santibañez, L., & Guarino, C. M. (2021). The effects of absenteeism on academic and social- emotional outcomes: Lessons for COVID-19. Educational Researcher, 50(6), 392-400. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X21994488