Imperfect Attendance: Toward a fairer measure of student absenteeism

Because the pandemic exacerbated chronic absenteeism in many parts of the country, the need to understand how schools can improve student attendance has never been greater. Accordingly, this study breaks new ground by examining high schools’ contributions to attendance after accounting for individual students’ prior absenteeism and other observable characteristics—that is, their “attendance value-added.”

To gauge the validity and reliability of this new indicator of school quality, Jing Liu of the University of Maryland analyzed more than a decade of data on student attendance, reading and math achievement, and long-term outcomes, such as college enrollment.