Attendance and effort, more than test scores or demographics, drive course grades, GPA, course failure, graduation, and college readiness¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r? · q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Attendance and effort are the main drivers of grades, GPA, course failure, graduation, and college readiness, much more so than test scores, demographics, or coursework taken. → Allensworth 2018 q2 i? Nationally about 15 percent of K-12 students, almost 20 percent of high school students, and more than 10 percent of elementary students are chronically absent, missing at least 10 percent of class time. → Allensworth 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Allensworth 2018¶

Allensworth, E.M., Farrington, C.A., Gordon, M.F., Johnson, D.W., Klein, K., McDaniel, B., & Nagaoka, J. (2018). Supporting social, emotional, & academic development: Research implications for educators. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/page/presentations

q2 · i? · review · r?

The review reports, citing Allensworth & Luppescu (2018) and BERC (2011), that attendance and effort outweigh test scores and demographics as drivers of "course grades, grade point averages (GPAs), course failure, high school graduation, and college readiness." No effect size is printed.

"Attendance and effort are the main drivers of students' course grades, grade point averages (GPAs), course failure, high school graduation, and college readi ness—much more so than test scores, demographic factors, or which classes students take."

Allensworth 2018 (2)¶

Allensworth, E.M., Farrington, C.A., Gordon, M.F., Johnson, D.W., Klein, K., McDaniel, B., & Nagaoka, J. (2018). Supporting social, emotional, & academic development: Research implications for educators. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/page/presentations

q2 · i? · review · r?

The review reports national chronic absenteeism prevalence, citing U.S. Department of Education (2018) and Chang, Bauer, & Byrnes (2018): about 15 percent of K-12 students are "chronically absent, missing at last 10 percent of class time." These are descriptive prevalence figures, not effect sizes.

"Yet, nationally, about 15 percent of K–12 students—almost 20 percent of high school students, and more than 10 percent of elementary school stu dents—are chronically absent, missing at last 10 percent of class time."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Low attendance is linked with lower academic skills, grades, and high school graduation, and high attendance with higher ones — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Ninth-grade GPA strongly predicts on-time high school graduation, with an especially large gap between F and D students — related
• Academic and behavioral classroom factors, not student demographics, drive the effect of composition on evaluator ratings — related
• Course grades and GPA predict high school and college outcomes better than standardized test scores or coursework — related
• Ninth-grade on-track status predicts graduation more strongly than prior achievement, with a 55 percentage point gap after controls — related
• Academic disengagement behaviors such as chronic absenteeism and course failures are related to test disengagement behaviors such as rapid guessing — related
• Students' survey reports of their school experiences predict later academic and well-being outcomes including attendance, grades, test scores, graduation, college enrollment, and well-being — related
• Attendance Support students maintained a 3.0 GPA despite low attendance but graduated high school at 71 percent, below the district average, and fewer than half attended college — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• High school GPA is a better predictor of college graduation than standardized test scores, yet districts continue to rely on test-based readiness benchmarks — related
• Course grades are more predictive than standardized test scores of high school and college success — related
• Ninth grade GPAs are the single most predictive indicator of high school graduation, college enrollment, and degree completion for all English Learner groups — related
• Combining GPA or course failure rates with attendance provides the best prediction of high school graduation for most EL groups, while GPA plus test scores best predicts college degree attainment — related