Attendance and Absenteeism in MA Symposium on Attendance and Absenteeism August 7, 2018

Poor attendance is prevalent, and not just in high school Takeaways Poor attendance is prevalent, and not just in high school Missing school matters Absenteeism is an important early warning signal

Poor attendance is prevalent, and not just in high school The typical MA student misses 9 days of school (5%) each year

Chronic absenteeism is also common 13% of MA students miss 10% or more days of school (18+ days)

Chronically absent students are disproportionately high needs

Missing school matters for MCAS scores The typical CA student scored at the 31st percentile The typical non-CA student scored at the 54th percentile Difference of 23 percentile points

More evidence from winter weather absences MCAS math scores drop by one scaled score point per day missed due to moderately bad winter weather Causal impact, not just correlation Impact is smaller in ELA No impact for severe weather Goodman 2014: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20221

Missing school matters for on-time graduation rates In 2017, 97% of students never chronically absent in high school graduated on time Compared to 82% of students who were chronically absent at least one year in high school

Absenteeism is an important early warning signal Why is this child missing school? Address root causes: Tools and interventions

Chief Strategy and Research Officer Thank you Thank you! Carrie Conaway Chief Strategy and Research Officer Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education cconaway@doe.mass.edu Twitter: @clconaway, @maschoolsk12

EWIS: Predicting future academic outcomes Model Grade Level Groupings Academic Milestones State Results  K-12 Milestones Grades 1-3 Reading by the end of third grade Reaching proficiency or higher on 3rd grade ELA State Assessment 60% Grades 4-6 Middle school ready Reaching proficiency or higher on 6th grade ELA and math State Assessments 55% Grades 7-9 High school ready Passing grades on all 9th grade courses 79% Grades 10-12 High school graduation Meeting all local and state graduation requirements 87% Postsecondary Milestones College Enrollment Enrolling in postsecondary education 76% Academic Readiness Enrolling in credit-bearing courses without developmental education 65% College Persistence Persisting in second year of postsecondary education 86%

What is an EWIS Report

What is an EWIS Report

Using EWIS and other data

New: Attendance & Suspension Report Coming this fall! DRAFT DRAFT

New: Monitoring Tool Coming this fall!

New: Monitoring Tool Coming this fall!