Attendance Research

Roughly one in four students in New York City is chronically absent. A chronically absent student is defined as having missed 10%, or a month of more of school, in a single year.

Attendance Matters. Chronic absence is a powerful early warning predictor of student performance. Research shows that students who attend regularly achieve greater success in school and life. Research also shows that supporting regular attendance reduces educational inequities.

This page includes publications and research conducted about chronic absenteeism.

Rand Corporation

Illustrating the Promise of Community Schools

January 2020- Rand Corporation

RAND Corporation reports that students in NYC Community Schools are more likely to:

  • Graduate on time

  • Miss fewer days of school

  • Feel safer and supported

READ THE REPORT

Rand Corporation

Developing Community Schools at Scale: Implementation Report

2017- RAND Corporation

  • An analysis conducted focusing on the implementation strategies of community schools in New York City.

READ THE REPORT

Partnerships for the Future of Learning

Meeting the Challenge of Chronic Absenteeism

August 2018-Partnership for the Future of Learning

  • This report goes over the efforts taken to combat chronic absenteeism in New York City between 2010 and 2013.

READ THE REPORT

Aspen Institute

From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope: Recommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, & Academic Development

January 2019-Aspen Institute

  • This report highlights the benefits of socio-emotional learning, how it can be further implemented across the country, and the implications of it in the future.

READ THE REPORT

The Hamilton Project

Lessons for Broadening School Accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act

October 2016-The Hamilton Project

  • The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to add at least one measure of "school quality or student success" to its statewide accountability system.

  • The report proposes states to adopt chronic absenteeism as their measure of school quality or student success.

READ THE REPORT

Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center

Data Matters Using Chronic Absence to Accelerate Action for Student Success

September 2018-Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center

  • This report highlights the problem with chronic absenteeism within schools.

READ THE REPORT

New York City Independent Budget Office

Not Reaching the Door: Homeless Students Face Many Hurdles on the Way to School

October 2016-New York City Independent Budget Office

  • This report highlights the challenges students in temporary housing face when attempting to go to school.

READ THE REPORT

Institute for Children Poverty and Homelessness

Empty Seats: The Epidemic of Absenteeism Among Homeless Elementary Students

November 2015- Institute for Children Poverty and Homelessness

  • This brief focuses on the issues of absenteeism that particularly impact homeless elementary school students.

READ THE BRIEF