Chronic Absenteeism Affects Academic Achievement

Joanna Rafailidis/Kelly Kielar

WebQuest PS171Q

The Social Problem

Based on Statistical evidence,

Students’ chronic absenteeism affects academic achievement.

Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days in most districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. … When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.

Introduction

Every student for many different reasons, once in a while is absent, but when absenteeism becomes chronic, it is likely to affect students’ achievement in the long run.

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, absenteeism appears to be on the rise across the country, but particularly among students of low socio-economic status.  

Research has shown that there are links between school attendance and achievement on standardized testing, graduation rates, and dropout rates. Achievement can be affected both in the long term and the short term.

The Task

• At the end of this Quest, students will draw conclusion how much chronic absenteeism affects academic achievement.

• They will conduct a research to find out why students are chronically absent
• They will create a digital presentation to share their findings and propose solutions

Process

To complete this project you will follow the six steps of Public Policy Analyst (PPA).

You may use the worksheets to help you organize your research and you make sure you share your documents and digital presentation with me.

You must include  a cover page with a title and the all the names of all students who contributed to this research

1.Define the Problem

Define the problem and make sure you can answer the question. Why students are chronically absent

Worksheet1: "Defining the social problem"(MSWORD)

In the recent studies, there is statistical evidence that students chronic absenteeism affects academic achievement and in the long run it affects high school graduation rates.

2. Gather Evidence

Throughout this research to support your claim that this is a social problem exist, you must find statistical evidence.

You may use Worksheet 2: Gather Evidence

Worksheet2: "Gathering evidence of the problem"(MSWORD)

3.Identify the Cause

Why do students are chronically absent??? Are there any issues that affect students’ attendance???

Worksheet3: "Identifying the cause of the problem"(MSWORD)

4. Evaluate existing policies.

Find if there are any policies regarding students’ attendance. What do these policies say? Do we need to change these policies??

Worksheet4: "Evaluating Existing Public Policies"(MSWORD)

5.Develop Solution

You need to come up with a solution that you think that will help and reduce  students’ chronic absenteeism.

Worksheet5: "Developing public policy solutions"(MSWORD)

6. Select the best possible solution (Feasibility of Solution)

Is your proposed solution feasible or realistic?  Are there any obstacles that might prevent it from working??  

What can you do to prevent the obstacles?

Worksheet6: "Selecting the best public policy solution" (MSWORD)

Resources

· https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/

· https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Data-Matters_090618_FINAL.pdf

· https://vimeo.com/63614396

What’s the Difference Between Chronic Absence and Truancy?  January 11, 2016

· https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/

Success Stories about Improving Attendance

· https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ794822ttps://www2.ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.htm

· https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042085915618709

· https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/JOER.100.5.267-275

· http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=http://sar.org.za/index.php/sar/article/download/76/82&hl=en&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm2k0JqaL1HqHC0qZWXxJpLjB-g-Nw&nossl=1&oi=scholarr

· https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html#three

· https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED522725

· https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/10-facts-about-school-attendance/

10 Facts About Attendance

· https://www.google.com/search?q=statistical+evidence+and+students+chronic+absenteeism&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjq497svb7iAhVNheAKHcuCA_EQ_AUIDygC&biw=1034&bih=777#imgdii=yCPlSmZBlRbfPM:&imgrc=BYalnfQBTHYZbM:

· https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/ESSA/FutureReady/Pages/FRChronicAbsenteeism.aspx

Evaluation

You will be graded on group work, the presentation and information that you collected and included in your digital presentation using the rubric below:

Points	0-1	2	3
Group Work:	Group shows very little effort  to  work and engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners	Group works and engages  in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners.	Group engages  effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners; express ideas clearly and persuasively and build on those of others
Digital Presentation	Group fail to demonstrate their strategic use of digital media and visual displays. to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.	Group demonstrated their strategic use of media and visual displays but they did not provide enough digital visual displays to inform their audience about theri topic they are researching.	Group demonstrated effectively they strategic use of media and visual  displays providing enough information to their audience about the topic are researching.
Content	Group fail to  demonstrate their understanding of their task  and did not provide enough evidence  of their  research.	Group demonstrated their understanding of their task but did not provide enough evidence to support their position of the solutions they suggested.	Group demonstrated effectively their understanding of their task providing enough information to support their position of the solutions they suggested.

Conclusion

By the end of this assignment you will see the significance in attending school, the obstacles, the causes that cause chronic absenteeism and solutions to support students in attending school regularly. Throughout this  research, you will learn that chronic absenteeism has an impact in academic achievement and in the long run  affects graduation rates

Standards

ELA Writing Standards W6

Standard 6: Gather relevant information from multiple sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others

Standard 5: Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Demonstrate proficiency in the use of computers and applications