Objective

The objective of this follow-up review is to determine the extent of implementation of the five recommendations included in our initial report, Oversight of Chronic Absenteeism (Report 2017-S-52).

About the Program

Chronic absenteeism is a widespread problem, defined by the State Education Department (Department) as a student missing at least 10 percent of enrolled school days. Student absences, attributed to factors such as poor school performance, bullying, and unwelcoming school climates, increase students’ risk for disengagement, low achievement, and dropping out, among other issues.

Traditionally, districts have collected and reported attendance data using average daily attendance (ADA), which measures the average number of students who are typically present each day. However, ADA does not identify some students who miss a significant number of days of school. By contrast, chronic absenteeism emphasizes individual student attendance by tracking missed instructional time, which takes into account both excused and unexcused absences. School districts and other local education agencies (LEAs), such as charter schools and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, report student daily attendance information, which the Department uses to calculate chronic absenteeism rates.

As of June 2018, there were approximately 2,620,000 K–12 public school students enrolled in New York State’s 732 public schools. Nationally, 7 million students (about 1 of every 6 students) missed 15 or more days of school in the 2015-16 school year. That translates to approximately 105 million school days lost. According to Department figures, about 18 percent of students in the State’s public schools were considered chronically absent during the 2017-18 school year.

Our initial audit report, which covered the period April 1, 2014 through April 24, 2018, and was issued on September 18, 2018, identified risks to the implementation of the Department’s chronic absenteeism initiatives that could negatively affect progress toward the Department’s goals of increased student engagement and achievement. The Department had taken steps to address chronic absenteeism in New York school districts by:

• Encouraging school personnel to track student absenteeism through the certification process outlined in the Department’s Student Information Repository System manual;
• Communicating with the school districts and LEAs, which is coordinated through the efforts of the Department’s Information and Reporting Services unit and its Office of Accountability; and
• Conducting monthly meetings and weekly calls with Regional Information Centers to provide guidance in the development of strategies to increase student engagement and reduce chronic absences.

The Department also incorporated chronic absenteeism into its recently approved Every Student Succeeds Act plan as one of several factors that measure school climate and quality. 

Key Finding

We found the Department made significant progress in addressing the problems we identified in the initial audit report. All five prior audit recommendations were implemented.