Date of Award

Spring 5-19-2018

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Executive Ed.D. in Education Leadership Management and Policy

Department

Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Advisor

Christopher Tienken Ed.D

Committee Member

Luke Stedrak Ed.D

Committee Member

Danielle Sammarone Ed.D

Committee Member

Kimberly Clark Ed.D

Keywords

Chronic Absenteeism, Truancy, Free Lunch, Drop Out, Graduation, Post Acceptance, New Jersey

Abstract

Chronic absenteeism affects the majority of schools in the United States. An assessment of centers of learning illustrates that a majority of students miss a month of learning in an academic year through excused or unexcused absences. The majority of schools exhibit 95% average daily attendance rates, as the learners tend to not miss school, on the same day. Results from previous studies have focused on factors that influence chronic absenteeism within the kindergarten level and elementary school, and these evaluations contribute to the development of interventions that cut across the K-12 system.

This study explains the influence of chronic absenteeism on school dropout rates, four-year graduation rates, and post-secondary acceptance rates while controlling specific student and school characteristics. Literature from New Jersey offers a more limited view of chronic absenteeism compared to other regions, with response to chronic absenteeism focusing on the state of attendance and policy recommendations. This study focuses on both excused and unexcused absences forming a conceptual understanding of the problem. The results illustrated that chronic absenteeism and limited English proficiency were the only statistically significant contribution to the outcome of the prediction. Therefore, they were the only variables in this study with substantial correlation to success in high school. The study recommended the deployment of a multifaceted approach to the control of chronic absenteeism.

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