When Are Pupil Absences Most Harmful for Academic Achievement?

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Structural Influences on Student Outcomes and Schooling Experiences (Table 32)

Abstract

In this study, we examined how the timing and type of absences throughout compulsory schooling in England impact educational achievement. Using linked school administrative and survey data from the Millennium Cohort Study, we found substantial variation by school stage and type of absence in the effect of absences on exam results at the end of compulsory schooling. Absences in later years were 1.6 to 2 times more detrimental to academic performance than absences in earlier years. In primary school, unauthorised absences were more detrimental to achievement than authorised absences, but in secondary school, they are equally detrimental. To effectively intervene to reduce absences, it will be necessary to consider the timing and nature of absences.

Authors

• Markus Klein, University of Strathclyde

• Edward Sosu, University of Glasgow

• Jascha Dräger, DIW Berlin