Advocate Urges Schools and Districts to Prioritize Taking Attendance During Pandemic
December 18, 2020
Schools should be encouraged by state education agencies to take daily attendance during online and hybrid learning, says Attendance Works Executive Director Hedy Chang in a recent interview with FutureEd’s Phyllis Jordan. The pair discussed a new Attendance Works report focused on state attendance policies during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted the important role that accurate attendance data could play in identifying students, schools, and districts most impacted by pandemic disruptions. Though she recommends that states refrain from using chronic absenteeism data as an accountability measure, as was common prior to the pandemic, Chang urges states to continue data collection to inform recovery efforts.