While existing literature documents disparities in and implications of absenteeism and truant behavior, less is known about truancy as defined in state laws. Habitual truancy, which can trigger external punitive responses, is particularly underexplored. The current study utilizes administrative data from the universe of Pennsylvania schools to…

Using administrative data from an urban school district, two series of predictive models were tested for their ability to project a student's high school graduation status. The models included student grades, attendance, behavior, demographic predictors, and school-level variables. Eighth and ninth-grade variables were tested for two graduation…

Chronic absenteeism affects the majority of schools in the United States. An assessment of centers of learning illustrates that a majority of students miss a month of learning in an academic year through excused or unexcused absences. The majority of schools exhibit 95% average daily attendance rates, as the learners tend to not miss school, on…

The first year of study in higher education is a time of major transition for students. While the importance of induction has been widely demonstrated, there is evidence to suggest that not all students benefit equally from participation in induction. This study examined attendance rates at induction, the relationship between induction attendance…

Ninth grade is a critical juncture for students--and can be a jarring transition. Even students a strong track record in the middle grades can experience academic difficulty, and those who enter high school with poor course grades, weak attendance, or behavior problems are especially at risk. An early misstep can have lasting implications:…

Students who drop out of high school are at increased risk of a range of negative social and economic consequences, including lower earnings and poorer health. To reduce dropout rates and lessen these negative consequences, districts around the country are using early warning indicators to identify and provide supports for students at risk of…

Community-based systems of care (SOC) provide a range of services to students with significant emotional and behavioral difficulties and their families. However, little is known about the educational characteristics and functioning of students at enrollment in SOC. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend previous research by…

Background: Children with incontinence have more absenteeism, poorer academic performance, and potential social difficulties during the school years. These children and their parents are at risk for illness-related anxiety. Whereas educational plans are designed to remediate educational, medical, and social-emotional barriers at school, little…

The purpose of this study was to examine student characteristics related to completing high school within four years, with particular emphasis on graduation outcomes for male and English language learner students. The authors looked at a cohort of students who began grade 9 in the 2007/08 school year in four Oregon districts. Factors related to…

This study explored significant predictors of student's Grade Point Average (GPA) and truancy (days absent), and also determined teacher effectiveness based on proportion of variance explained at teacher level model. We employed a two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) with student and teacher data at level-1 and level-2 models, respectively.…

Dropping out of high school has negative results and implications for individuals and society. The likelihood of dropping out is attributed to both social and academic risk factors. Poor high school attendance, low course completion, and low grade-point-average (GPA) have been identified as three leading indicators that students are at risk for…

Increasingly more service members are separating from the military as the United States draws down the force and moves towards a post-war era. Tens of thousands of these veterans will leverage their GI Bill tuition and housing benefits in an attempt to access Southern California community colleges and bolster their transition into mainstream…

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…

This study examines the effects of math readiness and student course behavior (e.g., attendance, participation, homework completion) on knowledge gain and course success using two samples of students enrolled in foundational skills (noncredit-bearing) mathematics courses. As hypothesized, entering student mathematics readiness and course behavior…

The goal of this study was to examine the relationships between school level poverty found in Maine schools and student academic performance. The evidence clearly shows that there is a relationship. As the percent of poverty increases in a school, student performance declines. But the poverty level alone does not explain the wide variations in…