Meeting the Challenge of Student Attendance
At the High School Level

No school improvement effort can succeed unless students are actually in school to benefit from it. Despite a hundred years of compulsory attendance laws, and decades of programmatic and legal efforts to get high school kids to come to school, student attendance remains high on every principal’s agenda for school improvement. With the advent of school report cards and prominent high-stakes accountability systems in most states, attendance has become one of the hottest issues in school reform.

In the case of student attendance, common sense wisdom is also well supported by research: students who attend school regularly are more successful than those who do not. Regular attendance has been linked to higher achievement, stronger bonds to the school and community, lower rates of delinquent and high risk behavior, and increased participation in higher education.

The challenge for high schools is to design and implement attendance policies and programs that monitor, encourage, and reward student attendance using available resources and without burdening faculty and staff with cumbersome tracking and reporting procedures. Most important, to be truly successful, attendance policies and procedures must be part of a comprehensive plan to create and maintain student-centered, achievement-focused learning communities.

Effective Programs and Policies

Effective attendance policies and programs have a number of features in common. In general, these programs:

› Are clear and easy to understand.

Attendance policies and programs must be clear and easy to understand in order to effectively improve student attendance. Additionally, policy and program information should be provided to parents and students on a regular basis. Frequent mention of attendance policies and programs in parent newsletters, on websites, during “on-hold” telephone recordings, and even in arts and sporting event programs, will help to facilitate understanding of just how important attendance is for high school students.

› Are part of a strong, student focused school climate

A strong, student-focused school climate provides a safe and healthy environment that encourages the best in everyone from students to faculty and staff. A healthy school climate is the result of careful planning and organization, and an unwavering focus on achievement, self-esteem and physical and emotional well-being of students. No single factor has a greater impact on student attendance than the climate and culture of a school.

For more information on creating a strong school climate, visit the “library” section of Principalspartnership.com and look at the research briefs on Mentoring, Small Learning Communities, Student Advisory Programs, and other climate-related materials. http://www.principalspartnership.org/library.html

› Provide rewards and incentives.

While rewards and incentives for attendance seem to spark controversy, there is no question that they work in improving attendance. In school districts where students receive rewards such as added points for semester grades, or relief from semester exams, attendance does improve. In some districts, more tangible, and less controversial rewards such as T-shirts, free movie tickets and discounts at local merchants seem to work to improve student attendance. In several districts in Florida, students who meet academic and attendance goals are entered in a drawing for a new car at local dealerships. The tension builds as students take their report cards to the dealership each grading period and the impact on attendance is remarkable.

› Clearly articulate the importance of good attendance.

Articulating the importance of attendance in ways that are meaningful to all students can have a very positive effect. Students need to understand that attending school is important in the context of their future plans and goals, not just in terms of grades and academic success. Career fairs that focus on employability skills (including good attendance), guest speakers who discuss the importance of high school attendance, and student focus groups that discuss ways to make school more meaningful can go a long way towards improving student attitude towards school and school attendance.

Many schools also have made systematic efforts to change students’ attitudes toward attendance or to reduce the tardiness rate. For a full discussion of these programs, see the Principalspartnership.com feature on Shaping Beliefs and Attitudes, http://www.principalspartnership.org/feature1002.html

The National Council on Economic Education’s website includes a lesson plan that engages students in an analysis of various attendance incentive programs and has them compare the cost of the programs with the improved earning potential of high school graduates. The aim of the lesson is to underscore the importance of attendance to the future goals of students. (Find this lesson at http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/print.cfm?lesson=EM444&page=teacher.)

› Incorporate strict penalties for truancy.

Stricter attendance policies, with consequences for truancy ranging from lower grade point averages to fines and jail time for parents, are paying off in some school districts. Many districts are partnering with juvenile justice personnel to create programs aimed at keeping students in school and punishing those who are truant.

 

Best Practices

Because educators have been working to improve student attendance for such a long time, there are many practices that show exceptional results in getting students to school and keeping them there. Among these practices are both school-wide and specific program interventions.

1. Transition programs that ease middle school students into ninth grade

School leaders can ease students' transition into high school by implementing transition programs that address the needs of students and their parents and that facilitate communication between middle school and high school teachers and support staff. Students who make a comfortable transition from middle to high school tend to be more confident students with better attendance. For more information visit http://www.principalspartnership.org/library.html and click on Ninth Grade Transitions.

2. School based health programs

Since the most legitimate absences are the result of illness or injury, schools with comprehensive student health programs tend to have higher rates of attendance. Programs that promote healthy lifestyles and provide access to community health-care programs for needy students are a vital part of systemic attendance program. In one school, a “wash your hands” program promoted by the school nurse helped to cut the spread of colds to students and faculty. In another, students and teachers teamed up to support one another in giving up cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Finally, one school set out to lower its pregnancy rate by focusing on education and access to community programs. All three schools improved their attendance rate as well as the health and well being of their students and faculty.

3. Career education, and work/study programs and college dual/enrollment

Programs that give students a head start on their post high school goals are effective in lowering a school’s dropout rate and raising school attendance. Students who plan to enter the workforce immediately after graduation often begin their work careers while still in school. This often results in students who attempt to juggle full time academic work with a part or full time job. Providing academic credit for job experiences in work/study programs helps keep these kids in school, and improves attendance.

Additionally, dual enrollment programs in community college job training programs or academic transfer programs help to improve attendance by building skills and clearly linking high school attendance to future career goals. One innovative program in Douglas, Wyoming allows students to complete the first year of college by the time they finish high school. If they choose to spend a fifth year at the high school, they can complete their second year of college as well, a real benefit for students whose family circumstances or financial situations keep them from attending the state university, over 200 miles away.

4. Academic support for under achievers

Tutoring programs, writing centers, math labs, mentoring programs and other forms of academic support have a positive effect on both achievement and attendance. Students who feel successful in school are much more likely to attend on a regular basis. Also, students frequently form a bond with their academic tutor so that they come to school rather than disappoint the person who is helping them succeed.

5. Extracurricular activities

Students who participate in activities such as sports, music, the arts, clubs and interest groups have higher attendance rate than students who do not participate in extracurricular activities. Providing opportunities to engage in high interest activities tends to promote social bonding which increases attendance. Spending time and resources strengthening existing extracurricular programs and establishing reasonable participation polices that do not exclude low achieving students from these opportunities have a very positive impact on overall student attendance.

 

Conclusion

As with all complex educational issues, there is no “magic bullet” to solve attendance problems. It takes a combination of comprehensive policies, attractive and engaging programs, and a strong and inviting school climate to bring students into the school and keep them productively engaged. Listed below are additional resources to help create these conditions in the high school.

Online References

American Psychological Society Observer, Encouraging Student Attendance

This excellent article talks about the importance of school attendance and what teachers and administrators can do to encourage students to attend school. It offers loads of very practical ideas for teachers and administrators.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/1101/tips.html

The News-Gazette Online, Champaign Illinois

This site links to a newspaper article outlining the use of rewards and incentives to improve attendance in an Illinois school district. The article has good information about the pros and cons of the use of rewards.

http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=15244

The National Council on Economic Education

Website includes a lesson plan that engages students in an analysis of various attendance incentive programs

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM349

Education World, Schools Get Tough on Attendance

This article outlines the policies of four school districts that use everything from fines to rewards to keep kids in school.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin263.shtml

Department for Education and Skills, United Kingdom

A site in the United Kingdom that has a variety of template- like documents that can be modified and used for planning purposes.

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolattendance/goodpractice/index.cfm?cat=10

SouthCoastToday.com, Combat truancy by making school worth attending

This interesting editorial in a Massachusetts newspaper outlines some ideas for improving attendance.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/05-03/05-16-03/a17op079.htm

Prepared by Howard Johnston
Secondary Education Department
University of South Florida