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Absenteeism
Effects of Dual-Language Immersion on Attendance and Reclassification in a Large Urban District
Lucrecia Santibañez, Clemence Darriet, Sarah Asson, Francesca López, Claudia Cervantes-Soon, Erica Frankenberg.Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceDual-language immersion (DLI) programs have proliferated across the United States, yet evidence on their effects for English Learner-designated (EL) students in large, diverse urban districts remains limited. This study examines DLI's effects on attendance and reclassification—two outcomes that… more →
The Causal Effect of Student Absences Post Pandemic: Evidence from Three School Systems
Topics: Student LearningTags: Absenteeism, Covid-19 recoveryResearchers, educators, and policymakers have long worried about the consequences of student absences for educational achievement and attainment—concerns that have grown with the significant rise in absenteeism during and following the Covid-19 pandemic. Using administrative data from Maryland,… more →
Immigration Enforcement Actions and Empty Desks: Persistent and Acute Attendance Effects
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceHow do immigration enforcement actions (IEAs) affect student attendance, and through what channels? We use student-by-day administrative records from a mid-size school district to estimate the causal effect of heightened federal immigration enforcement following the January 2025 presidential… more →
How Large are District Effects on Student Attendance? Implications for School Funding Based on Average Daily Attendance
Tags: Absenteeism, School districtsGreater attendance rates in the K-12 grades demonstrate motivation and discipline and contribute to other desired educational outcomes such as cognitive development. A growing number of states incentivize school districts to increase attendance by allocating funding based on the average number… more →
Who Is Newly Absent? Racial Inequities in Post-Pandemic Transitions into Chronic and Severe Absence in Georgia
Topics: Student LearningTags: Absenteeism, EquityChronic absenteeism rose sharply following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has declined only modestly since, yet most evidence remains cross-sectional and cannot distinguish persistence from redistribution in absence behavior. Using a cohort transition framework, the analysis compares… more →
What are schools doing to improve attendance? Evidence from Michigan and Georgia
Topics: Student Well-BeingThis study presents evidence from Michigan and Georgia on the strategies that schools are using to improve attendance and how those strategies vary across contexts. We find that schools in both states rely heavily on communication-based practices aimed at changing student or parent behavior.… more →
The Chronic(les) of Absenteeism Measurement: Unpacking the Many Measures of Attendance and Evidence for a Lower Chronic Absenteeism Threshold
Topics: MethodsTags: AbsenteeismChronic absenteeism has surged in recent years, drawing growing policy and research attention. However, a complicating factor often overlooked is that the measurement of absenteeism is inconsistent, with substantial researcher degrees of freedom. This study investigates how researchers’… more →
Effects of a non-traditional teacher preparation program on non-test outcomes: evidence from relay graduate school of education in New York City
Topics: Teacher and Leader DevelopmentThis study examines the effects of a non-traditional teacher preparation program, the Relay Graduate School of Education, on non-test outcomes for New York City public school students in Grades 3–8. By controlling for student and school fixed effects, I use plausibly random variation in Relay… more →
The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida
Topics: Student Well-BeingTags: Absenteeism, School climate and culture, Student discipline, Student engagement, Student well-beingCellphone bans in schools have become a popular policy in recent years in the United States, yet very little is known about their effects on student outcomes. In this study, we try to fill this gap by examining the causal effects of bans on student test scores, suspensions, and absences using… more →
Contemporary Child Labor and Declining School Attendance in the U.S.
Topics: Families and CommunitiesThe United States has experienced a 400% increase in reported child labor violations over the past decade, coinciding with declines in K-12 school attendance and enrollment. We examine the causal relationships between these patterns with microdata from the American Community Survey (ACS) from… more →
Absent and Afraid? Immigration Enforcement and Student Attendance in the Second Trump Administration
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceIntensified immigration enforcement activity under the second Trump administration has increased anxiety for immigrants in the United States, including many families with school-age children. This study provides early evidence on the effects of the second Trump presidency on the attendance of… more →
Social Emotional Learning, Student Attendance, and Chronic Absenteeism in Pre- and Post-Pandemic Periods
Topics: Student Well-BeingWe develop and implement a quasi-experimental panel data model to address the relationships between social emotional learning competencies (SEL) and annual student attendance in the pre- and post-pandemic periods. Although panel data models tend to focus on changes over time in outcomes and… more →
Recent Immigration Raids Increased Student Absences
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceTags: AbsenteeismLocal immigration raids expanded dramatically across the U.S. during the first two months of 2025. Anecdotal accounts suggest that these raids increased student absences from schools because parents fear being separated from their children. This study evaluates this claim using a daily times… more →
Remote Learning in 2020-21 and Student Attendance Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
Topics: Student Well-BeingTags: Absenteeism, Covid-19 recoveryStudent attendance declined during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains lower than pre-pandemic levels. This study examines the role of remote learning in these post-pandemic declines in student attendance. I find that remote learning in 2020-21 led to persistent declines in post-pandemic… more →
Lifting Up Attendance in Rural Districts: A Multi-Site Trial of a Personalized Messaging Campaign
Elise Swanson, Sativa Thompson, Jennifer Ash, Hayley Didriksen, Thomas J. Kane, Douglas O. Staiger, Lisa Sanbonmatsu.Topics: Families and CommunitiesTags: Absenteeism, Rural educationStudent absenteeism has remained high following the COVID-19 pandemic and districts need low-cost strategies to improve attendance. In 2020-21, the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks piloted a promising personalized messaging intervention in 8 rural districts in New York and… more →
Inequities and Impacts of Investments in New School Facilities
There is growing evidence that investment in school facilities, and new school construction in particular, can improve K-12 student outcomes, particularly for low-income students. Funding for school infrastructure, however, is inequitably distributed. Moreover, given a lack of national data on… more →
The Effects of High-Impact Tutoring on Student Attendance: Evidence from a State Initiative
Topics: Student Well-BeingStudent absenteeism surged during and after the pandemic, harming engagement and achievement. We evaluate the impact of Washington DC’s High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) Initiative—designed to mitigate learning loss through targeted academic supports—on student absenteeism. Using daily attendance data… more →
Empty Plates, Empty Seats: Food Insecurity and Student Absence in the US and Across the Globe
Topics: Student LearningSince the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant rise in student absenteeism in the US and elsewhere. Meanwhile, food insecurity remains a persistent issue across the globe, including in the US. Food insecurity shapes students’ immediate and wider contexts and may worsen school… more →
Entering and Exiting the Foster Care System: Implications for Absenteeism Among Child Welfare Involved Youth
Topics: Student Well-BeingTags: AbsenteeismWhile foster youth miss more school versus their non-foster counterparts, their status as a foster youth is not static, with many of them entering and exiting the foster care system over time. These dynamics of entry and exit can represent particularly crucial transition periods of stability and… more →
The Effects of School Building HVAC System Conditions on Student Academic and Behavioral Outcomes
Topics: Student Well-BeingThere is growing awareness of the importance of school building environments for student health, well-being, and even educational outcomes. We ask in this study what role school building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems play in shaping student attendance, behavior, and… more →