Everyone knows you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a
ticket. Or as they say, "You’ve got to be in it to win it."
Well, the same philosophy
applies to passing Regents exams. In this case, the "ticket" to
success for many students is simply coming to school on a regular
basis.
Indeed, a recent study by one
large district showed that students who attended school 93% of the
time or better scored 85 to 100 on their exams. Students with a
91% attendance rate scored 65-84, and students with attendance of
85% or less scored 0-54.
Teachers will tell you that
learning happens when you engage students with ideas, allow them
to interact intellectually with other students, and provide them
with support and direction. This is not something that can occur
in a make-up class or when the student is at home alone.
The state is weighing in
Good attendance is proving to be
so critical that the New York State Board of Regents is looking to
establish stricter school attendance guidelines.
Currently, there is only one
state mandate: Students between ages 6 and 16 must attend school.
Nothing in the law says how often they must be there. However,
districts must report daily attendance to the state––a number that
determines how much state aid they get. Beyond that, it is up to
each district to set its own attendance rules.
In light of national statistics
(showing that 10-19% of school children are absent without excuse
on any given day), state officials are considering some changes.
For example, they are looking at requiring secondary schools to
take attendance not just at the beginning of the day but on a
period-by-period basis and report it to the state.
It’s this last part that would
be new. In most high schools, teachers do take attendance in each
class, but that information stays within the district.
Essentially, the state would be telling schools: It’s no longer
good enough that your overall daily attendance is 94-95%. You need
to achieve that level of attendance in every class.
The state also would require
districts to set up firm attendance policies. While not dictating
the content of those policies, the state would encourage schools
to look at such ideas as factoring attendance into student grades
and establishing minimum attendance requirements as a condition of
course credit.
What parents can do
There are many reasons why a
high school student might "skip" school or "cut" a class, even
when penalties are attached. It might be personal, such as a
failed relationship with another student or a fear of being
bullied. Or it might be academic, such as a conflict with a
teacher or a fear of failing a test. Whatever it is, parents are
encouraged to ask the principal or a guidance counselor for help.
The one thing parents can be sure of is that teachers and
administrators share their desire to make sure the student is in
school.
In some cases, parents
themselves will sanction an illegal absence – e.g, to take a
family vacation or to care for a sibling. There are also times
when parents allow their child to "take a day off" on the belief
that an absence here and there won’t hurt.
But even the occasional
class-cutter runs the risk of missing that one critical class that
will make a difference in his/her grades. And once a student
starts to fall behind, it becomes easier to miss more classes,
producing a pattern that’s detrimental to success.
Educators stress that good
attendance not only brings better test scores. It also leads to
better learning every day!
Did you know…
New York State students may
not be suspended or expelled for truancy. Students suspended for
other reasons (such as bad behavior) must be offered the
opportunity to make up the work through alternative instruction.
In Nevada, truant students
cannot receive a drivers license until they are 18 years old.
Skippers can have their licenses suspended, if the school
superintendent reports them. Other states are considering
similar provisions.
