41.083-6 - Scalable Mechanisms to Improve K–12 Attendance

• In Event: 41.083 - Roundtable Session 15

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

An estimated 5 million to 7.5 million K-12 students are chronically absent each year, meaning they miss 10 percent of school days in a year. Recently, federal and state policy attention on reducing student absenteeism has gained momentum. Initiatives focus on data-driven solutions to monitoring attendance and identifying students at risk. To sustain such intensive data-driven efforts, overburdened school and district staff need easy-to-implement, scalable solutions. This panel assembles scholars from diverse disciplines who explore different mechanisms to improve attendance, anchored in different theories of change about how to engage students and guardians, across different grade levels and school settings with rich data. Panelists will highlight ways agencies can take action on their research findings.
 

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 9: Policy Implementation and Going to Scale

Chairs

• Robert W. Balfanz, Johns Hopkins University

• Hedy Chang, Attendance Works

Papers

• Automated Attendance Updates to High School Guardians - Rekha Balu, MDRC; Kristen Porter, University of Toledo

• Does Being Placed With a "Familiar Classmate" Improve Student Attendance? - Jacob Kirksey, University of California - Santa Barbara

• The Role of Mentors in Boosting Grade School Attendance: Lessons From Check & Connect - Jonathan Guryan, Northwestern University; Jens Ludwig, University of Chicago

• The Role of School District Bus Transportation in Reducing Student Absenteeism - Michael A. Gottfried, University of California - Santa Barbara