Overview of Chronic Absenteeism Calculations - PowerPoint Presentation

Overview of Chronic Absenteeism Calculations November 2019

Using Zoom Software Please type your questions in the Q&A box found at the bottom of your screen. This presentation will be made available on the Student Record Collection webpage

Topics for Today’s Webinar Definition of Chronic Absenteeism Research on Virginia’s benchmark Inclusions and exclusions Sources of dataStudent Scenarios Three step process for calculation Walk through common scenarios Next Steps3

Companion Document: Calculation Scenarios 4 To maximize the benefit of this presentation, all participants should navigate to the URL below (for attendees of the live webinar, an active link can be found in the chat box). The document found in this location contains the scenarios to be discussed during the presentation.Attendees should use this document to take notes and as a means to actively participate in the presentation.Chronic Absenteeism Scenario Document

For More Information Calculating Accreditation – available in the Instructions link of the Accreditation 2017 Revised SOA application Calculating ESSA – available in the Instructions link of the Federal Accountability Application (ESSA) application5

Chronic Absenteeism Definition

Definition Chronically absent students miss 10% or more of the school year for any reason Based on each student’s days enrolled To be chronically absent, a student enrolled 180 days must miss 18 or more school days Approximately 2 days per month orMore than 3 weeks per school year

Why 10%

Why 10%

Chronic Absenteeism vs. Truancy Chronic Absence: Counts all absences: excused, unexcused & suspensions Emphasizes academic impact of missed daysUses community-based, positive strategiesVs.Truancy:Counts only unexcused absencesEmphasizes compliance with school rulesRelies on legal & administrative solutionsAttendance Works. (2018). Chronic Absence: The Problem. Retrieved from https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/

What absences are included in the calculation? Excused absences, for any reasonUnexcused absences, for any reasonAbsences prior to involuntary withdrawals – i.e. dropout, suspension or long-term absence (up to 15 days allowable) Absences for students placed in full-time facilities based on actual attendance dataAbsences for virtual learning students based on established checkpoints/school policy 11

What absences are excluded from the calculation? For the full year - students receiving services in a homebound environment at any time (serving school number = 9998) For the time they are defined as homebased - students receiving services in a homebased environment (serving school number = 9999)For school level rates, student’s whose end of year in membership in a given school is <50% Students with grade level TT, PK or PG are not included in calculationsDays when the school is closed are not counted as absences12

Data Source End-of-Year Student Record Collection Aggregate Days Present Aggregate Days Absent Aggregate Days Unscheduled Days in Session 13

Three-Step Process to Calculate a School’s Chronic Absenteeism Rate

Scenarios

Northside High School had 180 days in session for the 2018-2019 school year. George was a Freshman at Northside High School for that year and was enrolled for the entire school year. George was sick with the flu and missed 8 days of school. Later in the year, he took a family trip where he was absent for 3 more days. Then during the football season, George missed 2 days to travel for games (school sponsored activity).Scenario 1

Scenario 1 Calculations   Northside High SchoolNorthside High School Total Days in Session180 George’s Total Days in Membership at Northside High School 180 George’s % Membership at Northside High School (180/180) = 100 % Is George included in the Chronic Absenteeism calculation (membership >=50%)? Yes George’s Total Days Absent (8+3) = 11 George’s Absenteeism Rate (11/180) = 6.1 % Is George Chronically Absent (percent absent >=10%)? No

Journey Elementary School had 179 days in session for the 2018-2019 school year. Maya was in Kindergarten at Journey Elementary School for that year. She was enrolled for 60 days in a homebound setting and a portion of the year in a regular classroom setting. Maya was present and attended school as of the first day, and throughout the month of November. Maya then had to exit to a homebound setting due to a chronic illness.By February, Maya was feeling well enough to return to school and finished out the year in a regular classroom setting. Scenario 2

Scenario 2 Calculations   Journey Elementary School Total Days in Session179 Maya’s Total Days in Membership 119 Maya’s % Membership (119/179) = 66.48 % Is Maya included in the Chronic Absenteeism calculation (membership >=50%)? No Maya’s Total Days Absent 0 Maya’s Absenteeism Rate Not Calculated Is Maya Chronically Absent (percent absent >=10%)? Not Calculated Maya’s attendance records are excluded from the chronic absenteeism calculation due to the homebound exclusion.

Journey Elementary School had 179 days in session for the 2018-2019 school year. Kendra was in 5 th grade at Journey Elementary School for that year, and due to some behavioral issues, was enrolled for 30 days in a homebased setting. Throughout the year, while Kendra was in a regular classroom setting, she missed 10 days due to illness and then missed 8 more days due to various other reasons.Scenario 3

Scenario 3 Calculations   Journey Elementary School Total Days in Session179 Kendra’s Total Days in Membership (179-40) = 149 Kendra’s % Membership (149/179) = 83.24 % Is Kendra included in the Chronic Absenteeism calculation (membership >=50%)? Yes Kendra’s Total Days Absent (10+8) = 18 Kendra’s Absenteeism Rate (18/149) = 12.08 % Is Kendra Chronically Absent (percent absent >=10%)? Yes Only Kendra’s attendance at Journey Elementary in a regular classroom setting is included in the chronic absenteeism calculation. Since Kendra’s membership in a regular classroom setting was >=50%, she was included in the chronic absenteeism calculation. Only her time spent in the homebased setting was excluded from the calculation.

Alexander was a 6 th grader at Einstein Middle School for 2018-2019. Einstein Middle had 179 days in session, and Alexander was enrolled as of the first day of school in a regular classroom setting, but spent two days a week in a homebased setting due to his IEP (accounting for 70 school days). Alexander missed a full school week due to illness, 3 days when he was scheduled for a regular classroom setting and 2 days when he was scheduled in a homebased setting.Scenario 4

Scenario 4 Calculations   Einstein Middle School Homebased (for illustration purposes only) Total Days in Session 179 NA Alexander’s Total Days in Membership (179-70) = 109 70 Alexander’s % Membership (109/179) = 60.89 % Not Calculated Is Alexander included in the Chronic Absenteeism calculation (membership >=50%)? Yes NA Alexander’s Total Days Absent 3 2 Alexander’s Absenteeism Rate (3/109) = 2.75 % Not Calculated Is Alexander Chronically Absent (percent absent >=10%)? No Not Calculated

Samuel is a senior at Southside High School in the 2018-2019 school year. Samuel missed the first 15 days of school due to a family vacation out of the country. At the end of the school year, Samuel did not have any SOLs to take and Southside High school had the tradition of letting graduating seniors “skip” the 4 days when the other students were testing. Since seniors were not expected to attend classes on “senior skip days”, those are coded as “days unscheduled”.Scenario 5

Scenario 5 Calculations   Southside High SchoolSouthside High School Total Days in Session180 Samuel’s Total Days in Membership at Southside High School 180 Samuel’s % Membership at Southside High School (180/180) = 100 % Is Samuel included in the Chronic Absenteeism calculation (membership >=50%)? Yes Samuel’s Total Days Absent 15 Samuel’s Absenteeism Rate (15/180) = 8.33 % Is Samuel Chronically Absent (percent absent >=10%)? No Samuel’s days missed for “senior skip days” do not count against the school as absences because they are coded as “days unscheduled”.

Peyton is a 7 th grader at Einstein Middle School where there were 180 days in session. Peyton had a difficult year and was given out of school suspension for 10 days due to a fight. Peyton did not receive any educational services while she was suspended. She also missed 8 days due to a stomach virus later in the year.Scenario 6

Scenario 6 Calculations   Einstein Middle School Einstein Middle School Total Days in Session180 Peyton’s Total Days in Membership at Einstein Middle School 180 Peyton’s % Membership at Einstein Middle School (180/180) = 100 % Is Peyton included in the Chronic Absenteeism calculation (membership >=50%)? Yes Peyton’s Total Days Absent (10+8) = 18 Peyton’s Absenteeism Rate (18/180) = 10 % Is Peyton Chronically Absent (percent absent >=10%)? Yes

Zack is a 3 rd grader at Journey Elementary School, however he does not physically attend the school because he has been placed in a private day facility due to his IEP that is paid for with funds from the Comprehensive Services Act. Between medical visits and not feeling well, Zack missed 12 days of instruction at the facility.Scenario 7

Scenario 7 Calculations   Journey Elementary School Journey Elementary School Total Days in Session179 Zack’s Total Days in Membership at Journey Elementary School 179 Zack’s % Membership at Journey Elementary School (179/179) = 100 % Is Zack included in the Chronic Absenteeism calculation (membership >=50%)? Yes Zack’s Total Days Absent 12 Zack’s Absenteeism Rate (12/179) = 6.70 % Is Zack Chronically Absent (percent absent >=10%)? No Even though 100% of Zack’s instructional days takes place at the private day facility, Journey Elementary School is required to report his actual days present and days absent.

Next Steps Webinar and accompanying document will be posted to the Student Record Collection webpage Additional webinar is being scheduled to discuss how Chronic Absenteeism is used in state accreditation and how it is used in ESSA30

Questions

Contact Information Calculations: ResultsHelp @doe.virginia.govQuestions about application to state accreditation or ESSA: Accountability@doe.virginia.gov #VAis4Learners