Research & Resources

What does the research say about reducing chronic absenteeism?

• Using incentives work sometimes, and sometimes it has the opposite effect. Researchers suggest diagnosing the cause of chronic absenteeism and thinking about how to match the right incentive (encouragement, reward, recognition) to influence behavior. (link)

• Have accurate and accessible attendance records. (link)

• Relationships, relationships, relationships. (link, link)

• Instruction should be engaging and relevant (link)

• The solution is NOT one thing. Apply different interventions to different student groups (ie. 3 tiers of intervention)

• Dozens of other research-informed strategies in this July 2019 Attendance Playbook including restorative discipline, culturally relevant instruction, early warning systems, removing barriers, etc.

Additional ideas and resources on following websites:

• • AttendanceWorks

  • NYC DOE Attendance Office

  • NYC DOE Office of Community Schools

  • Eskolta Learning Center: Attendance Supports

    • Lessons from interviews with Transfer School students

More importantly, dig into what's causing absenteeism as YOUR school.

• Understanding Factors (Attendance Works)

• Understand Root Causes with a Fishbone Diagram (High Tech High)

• Conduct Empathy activities, like interviews, to understand the problem from different perspectives . See some more tips on interviewing here.

Where can I learn more about continuous improvement?

• Learning to Improve : How America's Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better by Bryk, Gomez, et al.

• The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance by Langley et al.

• Free EdX Courses in Continuous Improvement, taught by experts from Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

• Student Success Network's Resource Library

• Mathematica's Learn, Innovate, Improve work, including their "Road Test" practice.