Chronic Absenteeism Plagues Urban High Schools
Thursday, May 03, 2012
At least one in four— and in some cases, close to 50 percent— of high school students in seven Rhode Island school districts missed at least 18 days of school last year, according to research documented in the most recent Kids Count Factbook.
In the state’s four core urban cities (Central Falls, Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket), 43 percent (roughly 3,759 students) of high schoolers were considered “chronically absent” because of the amount of time they missed during the school year.
In Newport, the chronic absenteeism rate was 43 percent; in West Warwick, the rate was 31 percent; and in Johnston, 28 percent of high school students missed at least 18 days of school.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Students who are frequently absent from school miss critical academic and social learning opportunities and are at risk of disengagement from school, academic failure and dropping out,” the Kids Count Factbook states. “Regardless of the reason for absence, students who miss school are more likely to fall behind academically and engage in risky behaviors.”
The shocking statistics come at a time when educators across the country are beginning to consider chronic absenteeism the top indicator for school attendance analysis.
In the past, schools used average daily attendance, which can be severely misleading. For example, in Central Falls, Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket high schools, the average daily attendance rate was over 85 percent.
But education experts believe that average daily attendance doesn’t address individual absenteeism, which, unless a student is absent for several days at a time, can be difficult to identify.
Either way, officials agree that more needs to be done to ensure that students are regularly attending school. The Kids Count Factbook noted that school “connectedness” plays a vital role in school attendance. The more reasons a student has for coming to school, the more likely they are to attend.
Education Commissioner Debora Gist said parents, students, teachers, and school leaders all share the responsibility for improving attendance.
“It’s very important that students attend school regularly. Students are not learning when they’re not in school, and chronic absenteeism can set students far behind their peers – sometimes leading to poor performance, retention in grade, or dropping out of school. Absenteeism can be a problem in any school district, not only in urban communities,” Gist said earlier this year.
Gist said student engagement is the key.
“The most effective way of improving attendance is to make sure that students feel engaged, to make learning fun and exciting so that students want to come to school, she said. “The question shouldn’t be: How do we enforce attendance requirements? The question should be: How do we make sure our schools are places where our students want to be every day?”
Dan McGowan can be reached at [email protected]
