Educational attainment is an important determinant of one's success. Yet, absenteeism among adolescents jeopardizes chances of achieving their educational goals. Absenteeism can lead to an increasing disinterest in school and the chance of dropping out in school. Thus, this study determined how parental involvement affects absenteeism among 60…

Many school districts in the United States are facing growing concerns regarding the shortage of qualified candidates for teaching positions. This problem has existed for some time, and its deleterious effects are exacerbated in school districts that have significant teacher turnover. School districts with higher teacher retention can mitigate…

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected variables for public schools and districts in Virginia to determine the relationship of school and policy characteristics to teacher absences. This study included two research questions: What is the relationship between certain school district policy provisions and teacher absenteeism? What is the…

Incisive research from the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute on the prevalence and consequences of absenteeism in Chicago schools has highlighted the dramatic effects of even moderate amounts of absences on grades, graduation rates, and student success in college. These insights spurred not only an ambitious 98% attendance goal on…

This report is designed to provide a detailed picture of the relationship between students' performance in the middle grades (grades five through eight) and their subsequent performance in high school and college among students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The key findings of this report have been summarized in briefs for middle grade and…

The transition from eighth grade to high school results in a substantial drop in course performance for many students. These declines in performance lead students to fall off-track for obtaining high school and college degrees. By using data on students' middle grade performance, high school staff can set goals for their students to help them meet…

This study examined whether a relationship between high school size and student achievement exists in Illinois public high schools in reading and math, as measured by the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), which is administered to all Illinois 11th-grade students. This study also examined whether the factors of socioeconomic status, English…

In 2007, spurred by University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research reports, leadership at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a new targeted approach to reducing course failure in the ninth grade. The research suggested that the transition between eighth and ninth grade played a critical role in shaping…

There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation. As a result, middle grade practitioners are grappling with questions about what skills students need to succeed in high school,…

This study of high school outcomes in the Baltimore City Public Schools builds on substantial prior research on the early warning indicators of dropping out. It sought to investigate whether the same variables that predicted a non-graduation outcome in other urban districts--attendance, behavior problems, and course failure--were also significant…

It is only relatively recently that empirical research has begun to emerge that has sought to further understand the factors that may contribute to the educational inequities between Indigenous Australian and non-Indigenous Australian students. Although it has been argued that research has typically employed small, unrepresentative case studies…

Despite increasing recognition that a high school diploma is a minimum requirement for success in the workplace, nearly half of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students fail to graduate, and in some CPS high schools, more students drop out than graduate. Research on dropping out has shown that the decision to persist in or leave school is affected by…