According to U.S. News & World Report, incorrect absenteeism data from a single county (Prince Georges, Maryland) has thrown off “an entire national analysis of chronic absenteeism, providing yet another cautionary tale about the power of data and the major ramifications of data that’s inaccurate.”...
“Last week Maryland released the results of its first-ever report card grading system for state schools,” WBAL Baltimore reports. The system uses a 5-star rating system, with rankings “based on academic and non-academic factors” including “progress in achieving English language proficiency for English Learners, chronic...
“By the end of this month, the Every Student Succeeds Act has required that schools list chronic absenteeism rates on their state report cards,” writes Brian Stack for MultiBriefs. “Many schools across the country have already started to do this, and the work started with...
Jennifer Palmer reports for the Enid News & Eagle that after “a two-year hiatus,” Oklahoma’s school report cards are back. But now they have a new focus: “The school accountability tool underwent a significant revamp” under ESSA “and now will include student test scores, a...
Deborah Yaffe writes in District Administration that it used to be “easy for districts to ignore what high average daily-attendance numbers can conceal: kids, sometimes lots of them, who miss weeks of school every year.” But ESSA changed this equation by requiring states to track...
“As many as 8 million U.S. public school students struggle academically simply because they miss too much school,” Phyllis W. Jordan writes in Education Next. “Recognizing this, 36 states and the District of Columbia have begun holding schools accountable for chronic student absenteeism” under ESSA....
Virginia’s Department of Education has released a report identifying the state’s lowest-performing schools, Justin Mattingly reports for the Richmond Times Dispatch. Nineteen schools in Richmond were identified “as needing support” under ESSA. “This is the first year the state Education Department has identified schools that...
Hisham Anwar of EdSurge explores the question of how to prepare for “education’s data overload.” While the accountability paradigm under NCLB focused on assessment rather than instructional practice and outcomes, under ESSA, school quality and success indicators are highlighted. Anwar notes that, “a growing number...
Education Dive’s Linda Jacobson reports on a new study released by University of Nebraska researchers, that interventions “intended to improve attendance are more effective with students who miss the most school—at least 20% of the year—than they are with students who miss fewer days.” The...
Absenteeism is “front and center” in Maryland’s ESSA plan, Emma Kerr reports for the Frederick News Post. She notes that “15 percent of an elementary, middle, and high school’s overall accountability score will be determined based on the percentage of students who are absent 10...
