The Effect of Chronic Absenteeism on College Readiness

Abstract

In 2017, 36 states and the District of Columbia adopted chronic absenteeism as ameasure of school quality (Nadworny, 2017). However, little research has addressed theeffect of chronic absenteeism on college readiness. Prior studies concerning the effectsof chronic absenteeism on student achievement have two major limitations. First, earlierstudies examine elementary students because attendance data are more readily available.Second, the majority of the studies use state assessment data as a measure of studentachievement, resulting in inconsistent definitions of proficiency and providing limitedinformation about students' college readiness.This quasi-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional study examined the effect ofchronic absenteeism, defined as absence for 10% or more of a school year, on collegereadiness, measured by achievement of the ACT college readiness benchmarks. Thesample included 427 students who took the ACT and graduated from a high schoollocated on the outskirts of a large Midwestern metropolitan area in 2013, 2014, or 2015.The results indicated no difference in achievement of the ACT college readinessbenchmarks between students who are chronically absent and students who regularlyattend. Additionally, the results indicated no difference in composite ACT scoresbetween students who are chronically absent and students who regularly attend.However, chronic absenteeism tended to be associated with students not taking the ACTtest.