Researchers analyzed roughly 2,700 Michigan colleges between 2022 and 2025 and divided them into quarters primarily based on how a lot they improved their college students’ attendance charges. College students within the prime quarter of colleges confirmed up for sophistication about seven extra days per 12 months than comparable college students within the backside quarter. Seven days is substantial since lacking 18 days a 12 months is the edge for power absenteeism.
Encouragingly, these attendance positive factors weren’t short-lived. The faculties that made probably the most progress tended to point out enchancment throughout all three years of the examine.
However enchancment doesn’t essentially imply success. Among the handiest colleges within the state nonetheless had absenteeism charges above 40 or 50 %, stated Jeremy Singer, assistant professor on the College of Michigan-Flint and lead writer of the examine.
The faculties making probably the most progress have a tendency to coach many kids in poverty, typically clustered within the state’s poorest cities, resembling Detroit, Flint and Saginaw, or in economically depressed rural areas the place farms are quickly going out of enterprise. Throughout the nation, absenteeism charges are highest in poor communities the place evictions, habit, transportation issues, well being points and household tasks intrude with faculty attendance.
Excessive-poverty colleges know absenteeism is an issue and have quite a few packages and workers in place to deal with it. Researchers needed to see if there have been frequent methods utilized by colleges that have been making progress. And they also mixed their evaluation with a Michigan faculty survey the place principals disclosed how they have been tackling the issue.
That’s how the worth of frequent residence visits rose to the highest, which additionally corroborates different research in Connecticut. An intensive home visiting program to spice up attendance has additionally proven robust outcomes there.
Nonetheless, these visits usually are not a assured answer. Some Michigan colleges conducting weekly residence visits noticed no enchancment in attendance — and even worsening absenteeism. In different phrases, whereas many faculties utilizing frequent residence visits have been profitable, others weren’t. “They’re actually no silver bullet,” stated Singer.
Singer says that researchers must dig deeper into what makes residence visits efficient since they’re costly and time-intensive. Potential components embody who conducts them, what time of day they happen, whether or not they’re scheduled or shock visits, and what conversations happen.
Colleges within the examine try dozens of different interventions, however the researchers didn’t detect a robust connection between most of these efforts and improved attendance. These different interventions embody early warning techniques, letters residence, automated textual content messages and cellphone calls. Colleges that had assist from district personnel, resembling truancy officers or liaisons, didn’t do higher than colleges with out these staffers.
Personalised and frequent textual content messages have been modestly extra frequent amongst extra colleges with bettering attendance. Researchers additionally discovered that colleges making extra progress have been barely extra more likely to report actively serving to households handle exterior limitations resembling housing and transportation.
The correlation between interventions and colleges which are efficient in boosting attendance is a clue about what works, however the researchers can’t say whether or not the interventions are driving the attendance enhancements. It might be that the simplest colleges are doing different issues not captured within the survey, resembling hiring particularly expert academics or constructing stronger relationships with college students that make faculty really feel price attending.
The findings are a reminder that “finest practices” suggestions typically overstate what researchers truly know. Colleges could make a significant distinction in attendance, however figuring out genuinely profitable colleges is difficult, isolating why they succeed is even more durable, and easy options not often maintain up beneath scrutiny.
This story about addressing absenteeism in Michigan was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, unbiased information group that covers training. Join Proof Points and different Hechinger newsletters.
