In this article, the author highlights a recurrent issue related to the historical measurement and use of attendance data: The challenge of producing uniform and reliable records on school attendance. Comparing this issue in the late 1800s to nearly two centuries later, he observes that while the capacity for record keeping and analysis has…

Although educational policy makers uphold that chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of the school year) is damaging to students' schooling outcomes, there is little empirical research to match. This study considers the role of spillover effects of chronic absenteeism on classmates' achievement. It does so by utilizing a large-scale…

This study examines the results of consolidation on the Hamilton County Department of Education, an urban school district located in Tennessee. The purpose of the study was to analyze the longitudinal effects by comparing and contrasting the district's pre-consolidation data from 1997-98 to its post-consolidation figures for 2006-07. More…

Observed differences between Associate and Bachelor students are often justified by citing the comparative poorer performance of 2-year students that continue into 4-year programs. This research offers a different approach by investigating introductory-level management courses taught as a combined class at a regional campus of a state university.…

This study looks at attendance in the early grades of elementary school. In particular, the authors focus on students enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten (PreK) and Kindergarten (K). They follow these young students over several years to determine their pattern of chronic absence (CA), defined as missing more than one-ninth of days enrolled, and their…

The following report of descriptive statistics addresses the attendance of the 2012 class and the average Actual and Predicted 1L Grade Point Averages (GPAs). Correlational and Inferential statistics are also run on the variables of Attendance (Y/N), Attendance Number of Times, Actual GPA, and Predictive GPA (Predictive GPA is defined as the Index…

Grade earned and class attendance records were examined to determine if posting PowerPoint notes on a web-based course management system was related to enhanced performance or increased absences. There were no differences in either grades or absences between classes that had notes posted and those that did not. However, results indicated…

Decreasing the high school dropout rate in the United States is gaining a great deal of national attention. One of the key strategies that has been identified to decrease dropout rate is to offer at-risk students alternatives to traditional school. This study contributed to our knowledge about alternative high schools for at-risk students by using…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…

After completing an audit of Chapter 1 allocations in five states, the U.S. Department of Education's inspector general suggested that authorizing legislation be amended to substitute some measure of membership for average daily attendance. States are also having trouble reporting current expenditures in conformance with the originally prescribed…

This study assesses funding differences, and the sources of those differences, between charter schools and traditional districts in Texas. The need for this research stems from conflicting reports on charter school revenues and growing concern over the quality of charter school financial data reported through Texas' Public Education Information…

As part of the redesign of the Common Core of Data of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and in response to the growing concern about the comparability of average daily attendance (ADA) in a national database, the NCES initiated a study in 1987 to describe the methods used by the states to collect, aggregate, and report state…

The costs of education per unit of Average Daily Attendance (ADA) are detailed in this two-part report for 70 California community college districts for the academic year 1979-80. Both Part I, which presents data excluding non-resident ADA, and Part II, which presents figures including non-resident ADA, begin with tables which rank order the…

This study compares student populations between two high schools in an urban school district in Indiana and populations within the schools to determine the effects of a punitive attendance policy and the attendance patterns of various groups. The schools were differentiated by the factor of one school enforcing an attendance policy. Random samples…

Short-term suspensions are a severe disciplinary tool that can be dispensed by school officials for one to five days at their own discretion. In addition to the negative impact of suspension on students, districts lose some state financial aid when students are not in school because they have been suspended. A continuing assessment of suspensions…