State and national school accountability policies situate preventing chronic absenteeism on par with meeting state standardized test benchmarks. We question relying on school attendance as both a component of accountability policies and a means of enhancing equity in schools. Our research suggests out-of-school factors unrelated to missed…

Total enrollment at Wisconsin's public and charter schools declined by 25,000 students from fall 2019 to fall 2020 and has continued to fall in the years since then. While declining birth rates and apparent movement of some students to private or home schools likely account for at least two thirds of the decline, somewhere between 0.5% and 1.2% of…

Pressure to improve academic success for all students has been applied to the educational While school personnel create programs and implement innovative instructional pedagogy, such as personalized learning to prioritize students and improve their academic success, research demonstrates the essential role of students' attendance in these…

As research today is often required to validate innovative aspects of education, David Sobel's analysis of the SEER report makes quantitative sense of nature education and its ability to improve learning. Test scores increase, attendance surges, language arts assessments show richer self-expression, speaking skills gain a community cause, math…

Students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) experience higher rates of victimization by bullying than do their heterosexual-identified peers. In this article, we investigate the extent to which this difference in rates of victimization can explain LGBTQ youths' greater rates of suicidal ideation, suicide…

This study finds that, compared with straight-identified youth, youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, victimization by peers, and elevated levels of unexcused absences from school. Results disaggregated by LGBTQ subgroups reveal heterogeneity…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between 8th grade student data and the level of student success at the end of the ninth grade year. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the Meleis (1986) Transition Theory and it was a mixed methodology research study that employed both qualitative and quantitative…

Decades of research support the role of a positive school climate on teaching and learning. This newsletter takes a look at the topic of school climate and sets out to determine: (1) What is school climate? (2) How can schools assess their school climate? (3) What are some practical examples of how schools are assessing school climate? and (4)…

Class size is one of the most researched and heavily debated topics in American public education. Currently, at least 25 states have initiated class size reduction (CSR) programs. In the past twenty years, several major studies have been conducted which indicate that smaller class sizes produce an increase in student achievement as well as greater…

Wisconsin's Learnfare program requires 13- to 19-year-old recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to maintain good school attendance or risk losing a portion of their families' grants. The program offers those with attendance problems the opportunity to work with case managers to identify causes of their poor attendance, as…

This is the 11th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). Analysis continues to focus on the long-term historical trends in RUSD, comparing RUSD to nine peer school districts and the State of Wisconsin. RUSD peer districts are Wisconsin's largest (Milwaukee Public Schools are not included) and their…

This is the 12th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD. The analysis compares RUSD data to data of nine peer school districts as well as statewide data. The peer districts are defined as those Wisconsin districts with…

A study was conducted to explore the relationship between anomia (a feeling of alienation, of being cut off from society), attitude toward adult education, and nonparticipation in formal adult education activities. The subjects of the study were adults who lived in a specific area in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which had the following characteristics:…

This document presents data on Wisconsin school performance for 1993-94. Data were derived from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), private firms that administer assessments, and Wisconsin's 427 public school districts and the state schools for the deaf and visually handicapped. The report includes introductory material,…

The Forum's 16th annual report on public schooling in Southeastern Wisconsin reveals that spending increased 4% in Southeastern Wisconsin school districts to $2.8 billion last year, although the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) experienced a significantly smaller increase (2.7%). Part of this relatively small increase can be attributed to the…