PHILADELPHIA -- Up to 7.5 million students miss nearly a month ofschool each year, making them much more likely to drop out beforethey graduate, according to a new national report. What's more startling is that only six states track chronicabsenteeism in schools, according to a study by Johns HopkinsUniversity researchers released Thursday at events in Philadelphiaand Washington, D.C. "No one is measuring this most fundamental thing -- are kidsattending school regularly" said Robert Balfanz, one of the JohnsHopkins researchers who worked on the study. "You can't evenanalyze what's working in closing the achievement gap withoutlooking first at chronic absenteeism." The study marks the first time researchers have tracked theprevalence of students who habitually miss school. Iphone 2G Replacement Parts
The researchers estimate that up to 15 percent of studentsnationally are considered chronically absent. That spikes up toone-third of students in urban and rural areas, where students maybe poor and come from families with little education. As a result, students who typically need more help to be successfulacademically are the ones missing the most school. Researchers found absenteeism to be highest in kindergarten and inhigh school. A student is considered chronically absent if they missed at leasta month of school in a year, or about 10 percent. Portable Phone Battery Charger Manufacturer
Some schools hadthe equivalent of entire classrooms of students missing that muchor more each year, the researchers found. The federal government doesn't track the problem, and neither domost states. The only states that keep up with it are Georgia,Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Rhode Island. Because of the limited data, Balfanz cautions that the study is an"educated guess" about the scope of the problem. The U.S. China Galaxy Tab Bluetooth Keyboard
Department of Education requires states to track dailyattendance, but those numbers don't reflect students who arechronically absent. For example, a school can have a 90 percent attendance rate butstill have hundreds of students who are chronically absent becausethe students all miss different days. "The research shows that we must address the attendance problem ifwe are going to have the kind of broader school improvement we wantand our students deserve," said Marie Groark, executive director ofGet Schooled, an education nonprofit that paid for the study.
The researchers estimate that up to 15 percent of studentsnationally are considered chronically absent. That spikes up toone-third of students in urban and rural areas, where students maybe poor and come from families with little education. As a result, students who typically need more help to be successfulacademically are the ones missing the most school. Researchers found absenteeism to be highest in kindergarten and inhigh school. A student is considered chronically absent if they missed at leasta month of school in a year, or about 10 percent. Portable Phone Battery Charger Manufacturer
Some schools hadthe equivalent of entire classrooms of students missing that muchor more each year, the researchers found. The federal government doesn't track the problem, and neither domost states. The only states that keep up with it are Georgia,Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Rhode Island. Because of the limited data, Balfanz cautions that the study is an"educated guess" about the scope of the problem. The U.S. China Galaxy Tab Bluetooth Keyboard
Department of Education requires states to track dailyattendance, but those numbers don't reflect students who arechronically absent. For example, a school can have a 90 percent attendance rate butstill have hundreds of students who are chronically absent becausethe students all miss different days. "The research shows that we must address the attendance problem ifwe are going to have the kind of broader school improvement we wantand our students deserve," said Marie Groark, executive director ofGet Schooled, an education nonprofit that paid for the study.