The relationship between absenteeism and academic achievement in Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County Public Schools
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between absenteeism and academic achievement in Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County Public Schools. The study included 5,855 seventh- and eighth-grade students attending Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County Public Schools in the 1998–1999 school year. The study excluded those students enrolled in special programs and students not taking at least one subject test of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) achievement test. The ages of the students ranged from 11 to 15 years. Data analysis pertaining to gender, ethnicity, level of absenteeism, grade level, and individual school was included. A slightly negative correlation was found to exist between the number of days absent and academic achievement as measured by the five subject areas of TCAP as well as the Mean Normal Curve Equivalency score. The correlation values were tested at the .01 or .05 level of significance determined by the sample size. Absenteeism was found to have a statistically significant negative relationship with academic achievement in most analyses. The relationship was not found to be statistically significant when considering ethnicity and school attended in several areas. The levels of absenteeism, excessive (missing 14 or more days during the school year) and non-excessive (missing 13 or fewer days during the school year) were defined based on the school district's attendance and promotion/retention policies. There was a statistically significant difference in scores between students with excessive absenteeism and students with non-excessive absenteeism. The difference in achievement between the two levels of absenteeism was not found to have been significantly impacted by gender, ethnicity, or school attended. Level of absenteeism, ethnicity, and school attended were all seen to impact achievement individually. The results of this study were made available to afford local decision makers and school administrators information needed in addressing the issue of absenteeism in grades seven and eight.
Subject Area
Educational administration|School counseling
Recommended Citation
Tammy Rae Shutt,
"The relationship between absenteeism and academic achievement in Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County Public Schools"
(2000).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3007621.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3007621