Michael A. Gottfried

Evaluating the Relationship Between Student Attendance and Achievement in Urban Elementary and Middle Schools An Instrumental Variables Approach

Researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and parents have assumed a positive relationship between school attendance and academic success. And yet, among the vast body of empirical research examining how input factors relate to academic outcomes, few investigations have honed in on the precision of the relationship between individual attendance and student achievement. The purpose of this article is to provide insight into this relationship. Specifically, this study has evaluated the hypothesis that the number of days a student was present in school positively affected learning outcomes. To assess this, a unique empirical approach was taken in order to evaluate a comprehensive dataset of elementary and middle school students in the Philadelphia School District. Employing a fixed effects framework and instrumental variables strategy, this study provides evidence from a quasi-experimental design geared at estimating the causal impact of attendance on multiple measures of achievement, including GPA and standardized reading and math test performance. The results consistently indicate positive and statistically significant relationships between student attendance and academic achievement for both elementary and middle school students.

Excused Versus Unexcused: How Student Absences in Elementary School Affect Academic Achievement

The literature on school absences has focused predominantly on the reasons for student truancy, or it has assessed only aggregate student absences in their effect on achievement. However, this study brings forth a new issue: the relationship between types of absences—excused versus unexcused—and school performance. With a quantitative model of educational achievement on a longitudinal multilevel data set of all second-through fourth-grade students in the Philadelphia School District from 1994 to 2000, this study disaggregated absence information to provide new insight on the attendance–achievement relationship. Specifically, a model using fixed effects with classroom-level clustering was employed to determine how the distinction among varying proportions of excused versus unexcused absences related to students’ standardized test performance in reading and math. This article demonstrates that distinguishing between students with high rates of excused or unexcused absences is significant. Having a higher proportion of excused absences to total absences exhibits a positive relationship between reading and math test scores. Conversely, students with a higher proportion of unexcused absences places them at academic risk, particularly in math achievement and as early as in elementary school. Implications for policy are discussed.

The Detrimental Effects of Missing School: Evidence from Urban Siblings

There is evidence suggesting that missing school negatively relates to academic achievement. However, it is a difficult task to derive unbiased empirical estimates of absences in their influence on performance. One particular challenge arises from the unobserved heterogeneity in the family environment, which may relate to both absence behavior and school performance. This article provides the first analysis aimed at reducing the family-specific omitted variable bias pertaining to measures of absences in their influence on standardized testing achievement. It does so by employing a model of family fixed effects on a longitudinal sample of siblings within the same household in a large urban school district over six years of observations. The results indicate a stronger, statistically significant negative relationship between absences and achievement than what would have been suggested otherwise. Implications are discussed.

Chronic Absenteeism and Its Effects on Students’ Academic and Socioemotional Outcomes

Recent policy dialogue suggests that chronic absenteeism is not only underdocumented, but is also detrimental to the success of students as early as kindergarten. That said, almost no empirical research has examined the effects of chronic absenteeism on student outcomes. This study addresses this underresearched issue in more depth. Using a nationally representative dataset of kindergarten students from the 2010–2011 school year, this study evaluates the effect of chronic absenteeism on both achievement and socioemotional outcomes. The findings suggest that chronic absenteeism reduces math and reading achievement outcomes, reduces educational engagement, and decreases social engagement. Hence, this study offers new evidence on how an undermeasured aspect of missing school impedes students’ attainment. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Classmates With Disabilities and Students’ Noncognitive Outcomes

The increasing trend of placing students with disabilities in general education classrooms has raised questions among researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and parents about classmate peer effects on all students. However, little is known about the peer effects of classmates with disabilities on the outcomes of other students in the classroom; no research has evaluated these peer effects on other students’ noncognitive outcomes though they are highly predictive of schooling and lifelong success. The purpose of this study is to fill this research gap by using quasi-experimental methods on a nationally representative data set (i.e., Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Class) of elementary school students to examine the peer effects of classmates with disabilities on five noncognitive scales for classmates without disabilities. The findings indicate that students with a greater number of classmates with disabilities have higher externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems and lower frequencies of self-control, approaches to learning, and interpersonal skills. The findings are differentiated by disability category of a student’s classmates and are moderated by individual and contextual factors. Implications for policy and practice are addressed.

Can Neighbor Attributes Predict School Absences

Recent evidence suggests that the neighborhood context, particularly for urban youth, can influence a range of outcomes. This study makes contributions to the field by examining how the neighborhood context directly relates to missing school. To do so, this study employs a large-scale, longitudinal data set of multilevel observations for entire elementary- and middle-school student cohorts in an urban district over 8 academic years. By linking urban school district administrative data with U.S. Census data, this study provides unique insight into how the characteristics of the neighbors on a student’s residential block (determined by his or her exact home address) predict school absences. The results indicate significant relationships between school absences and multiple categories of neighbor attributes, as delineated across measures of poverty, family structure, homeownership status, and race. These results are also distinguishable based on student gender, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

Who Joins Teach For America and Why? Insights Into the “Typical” Recruit in an Urban School District

Building upon previous research on how personal and demographic characteristics of teachers are correlated with larger issues in teacher recruitment and retention, this study contributes unique insight into the personal attributes, characteristics, and career aspirations of new teachers brought into teaching in Los Angeles through the Teach For America program. Drawing from ethnographic interviews with 25 current Teach For America teachers, this study finds that teachers in this study perceive themselves as embodying personal characteristics that prior research would support as less common among teachers in urban schools: That is, they see themselves as being competitive, high-performing, and enthusiastically committed to ending educational inequality. However, these participants tend to come from privileged backgrounds and colleges and consequently view their time teaching in urban schools as an interim period before pursuing other more “high prestige” careers. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Retained Students and Classmates’ Absences in Urban Schools

Research in grade retention has predominantly focused on the effect of this practice on the retained student. This study contributes to the limited body of research examining the effect of retained classmates on the outcomes of other students in the same classroom. Using a longitudinal data set of all elementary school students in a large urban school district, this study evaluates how the percentage of retained classmates affects other students’ absence patterns, both unexcused and excused. Focusing on absences as an outcome is key, as they signal educational disengagement and highly correlate with schooling and lifelong success. Based on quasi-experimental methods, the results indicate that a greater percentage of retained classmates increases other students’ absences. The effect is only present on unexcused absences, not excused absences, hence signaling an increase in disengagement in other students. Individual- and classroom-level moderating effects are evaluated, and policy implications for classroom assignment are discussed.

Chronic Absenteeism in the Classroom Context Effects on Achievement

Although educational policy makers uphold that chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of the school year) is damaging to students’ schooling outcomes, there is little empirical research to match. This study considers the role of spillover effects of chronic absenteeism on classmates’ achievement. It does so by utilizing a large-scale administrative urban district data set of elementary schoolchildren—a sample of students where the rates of chronic absenteeism are expected to be higher compared with the national average. The results show that students suffer academically from having chronically absent classmates—as exhibited across both reading and math testing outcomes. Chronic absenteeism not only had a damaging effect on those individuals missing excessive school days but also has the potential to reduce outcomes for others in the same educational setting.

The Influence of Applied STEM Coursetaking on Advanced Mathematics and Science Coursetaking

ABSTRACT Advanced mathematics and science coursetaking is critical in building the foundation for students to advance through the STEM pathway—from high school to college to career. To invigorate students’ persistence in STEM fields, high schools have been introducing applied STEM courses into the curriculum as a way to reinforce concepts learned in traditional mathematics and science classes and to motivate students’ interests in a long-term pursuit of these areas. The author examines the role of taking applied STEM courses early in high school on taking advanced mathematics and science courses later in high school. The results suggest a positive link between early applied STEM coursetaking and later advanced mathematics and science coursetaking—one that is delineated by specific type of applied STEM course and by individual-level demographic characteristics. The findings of this study thus support policymakers and practitioners’ efforts to expand the STEM curriculum beyond traditional subjects. Continuing to do so may be one way to expand the number of students persisting in STEM.