A Failed Attendance Policy--2,713,598 Excuses.

Autor/inn/en	Ligon, Glynn; Jackson, Elaine
Institution	Austin Independent School District, TX.
Titel	A Failed Attendance Policy--2,713,598 Excuses.
Quelle	(1990), (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Attendance Patterns; Failure; High School Students; High Schools; School Attendance Legislation; School Policy; State Action + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Bildungspflicht; Schulpolitik; Staatliche Intervention
Abstract	For the 1982-83 school year, the Austin (Texas) Public Schools adopted a high school attendance policy allowing a maximum of 10 absences per semester for course credit to be earned. Under this policy, Austin's high school attendance rose to an all-time high of 93.5 percent in 1983-84. In 1984-85, education reform mandated by the Texas Legislature set a state standard. A student could now miss no more than five classes per semester and receive course credit, but principals could "excuse" absences at their discretion. During the first year of the "five-absence" policy, Austin's high school attendance nearly matched the previous year's record high. Then began a remarkable decline, as excessive absences over five were excused in record numbers. District rumors held that students, parents, and school administrators had figured out the game and knew how to play it. In 1989, the Texas Legislature abandoned the five-absence rule in favor of an 80-day per semester attendance requirement, with days lost to be made up before course credit may be received. This report describes how the five-absence rule failed, so that institutional wisdom may help ensure the new policy's success. The study concluded that since the beginning of the five-absence rule, Austin high school attendance rates had deteriorated, the number of excused absences had increased, absences were not inflated by dropout counts, and the rule did not cause more students to drop out. The number of excused absences circumvented the rule and made it ineffective. (MLH)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC