Measuring School (Dis)Engagement: The Growth of Daily Class Absences in Secondary Schools

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Using Data in Decision Making: Policy and Practice

Abstract

We apply growth curve models to estimate how class-absences evolve within a school year and when students progress over grades. Preliminary results suggest that growth in unexcused absences appears to be a more appropriate measure for disengagement. Minoritized and low-income students are much more disengaged compared with their more advantaged peers and racial gaps increase over the course of secondary school. We also find that compared with similar measures, disengagement rates serve as a much stronger predictor for high school graduation.

Authors

• Jing Liu, University of Maryland - College Park

• Monica G Lee, Brown University

• Xiaoxue Zhou, University of Maryland - College Park