@EdWorkingPaper{ai24-1107,
title = "Effects of High-Impact Tutoring on Student Attendance: Evidence from the OSSE HIT Initiative in the District of Columbia",
author = "Monica G. Lee, Susanna Loeb, Carly D. Robinson",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "1107",
year = "2024",
month = "December",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai24-1107",
abstract = {Student absenteeism, which skyrocketed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, has negative consequences for student engagement and achievement. This study examines the impact of the High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) Initiative, implemented by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in Washington DC, on reducing absenteeism. The HIT initiative was designed to mitigate learning loss by providing additional academic supports with a focus on students affected by the pandemic’s disruptions. Leveraging detailed daily school attendance and tutoring session data, we employ a within-student approach with student and date fixed effects to isolate the causal effect of having a scheduled tutoring session on daily school attendance. We find that the likelihood of being absent decreases by 1.2 percentage points on days when students have a scheduled tutoring session; this translates to a 7.0% reduction in absenteeism. These effects are most pronounced among middle school students and those with extreme absenteeism in the prior year, with reductions of 13.7% and 7.0%, respectively. Furthermore, key features of high-impact tutoring, such as in-school delivery and smaller tutor-to-student ratios, amplify the effect. These findings underscore the dual benefits of high-impact tutoring for both academic and engagement outcomes, highlighting its potential as a scalable strategy to addressing chronic absenteeism and promoting equitable access to supportive educational environments.},
}