Prior-year absence effects on starting achievement are much smaller in reading than mathematics and non-significant in most grade levels¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Chronic-absence effects on reading starting achievement were smaller in magnitude and non-significant in most grades, possibly a power issue. → King 2020

Evidence¶

King 2020¶

King, G., & Jensen, N. (2020). Looking Back: How Prior-Year Attendance Impacts Starting Achievement. (The Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA Working Paper). https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/looking-back-how-prior-year-attendance-impacts-starting-achievement/

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Same fixed-effects models estimated for reading; the article reports effects "much smaller in magnitude and non-significant in most grade levels" but notes reading effect sizes for highly and chronically absent students were similar to math, suggesting a power limitation.

"The effects of chronic absenteeism in reading are much smaller in magnitude and non-significant in most grade levels. However, there is some evidence the lack of significance for chronically absent students in reading may be an issue of power in the sample of chronically absent students taking the reading assessment"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Descriptively, prior-year chronically absent students achieved over half a standard deviation below their peers at the start of the following year — related
• Students highly absent (5-9.9% of days) in the prior year, below the chronic threshold, start the next year .14 to .22 SDs lower in mathematics than no-absence peers — related
• Even moderately absent students (0.1-4.9% of days) start the following year at significantly lower mathematics achievement (.07 to .15 SDs) than no-absence peers — related
• Students chronically absent (10%+) in the prior year start the following school year 0.22 to 0.47 SDs lower in mathematics than peers with no prior-year absences — related
• Each single prior-year absence is associated with a .010 to .016 SD decrease in fall mathematics starting achievement the following year — related
• Low attendance is linked with lower academic skills, grades, and high school graduation, and high attendance with higher ones — a broader claim this one bears on