Exploring the Relationship Between Student Absenteeism and Student Literacy at the National Level
[1]
Sharon Murchie, Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, USA.
[2]
Mingyuan Zhang, Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, USA.
Across the nation, districts are working to increase student attendance. Studies show that student absenteeism at or above the 10% mark is considered “chronic” regardless of the reason for the absence and is correlated with poorer student achievement. This study investigated the relationship between student attendance and student reaching achievement at the national level. This study used the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) Data Explorer to determine if student absenteeism at the 8th and 12th-grade level was correlated with lower student literacy, as shown by reading composite and literary experience scores. The results indicate that any level of student absenteeism in the 8th grade is correlated with lower reading composite and literary achievement scores, whereas in the 12th grade, the 10% (chronic) is a valid cut point and correlated with lower reading composite and literary experience scores. Although the deficiencies in achievement from 8th to 12th grade were consistently correlated with absenteeism, this achievement gap did not grow over time. This study found a relationship between chronic absenteeism and student literacy at the national level; higher rates of student absenteeism are correlated with lower literacy scores at both the 8th and 12th grade.
Absenteeism, Literacy Assessment, NAEP, National Data, Data Mining
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