Five Myths About School Attendance

By Hedy Chang

With millions of children beginning the new school year, millions of teachers have inevitably begun to take the daily roll in their classrooms. Done right, this simple task not only can provide a way to welcome and engage students, but also can offer important clues about students, classrooms, and whole communities. Most schools miss out on this information, though, because they don’t track the right numbers and they trust the following commonly held myths.

1. STUDENTS DON’T START MISSING A LOT OF SCHOOL UNTIL MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL.

Actually, one in 10 kindergarten and 1st grade students misses at least a month of school every year, national research shows. In New York City, one in five elementary students falls into this category—a figure that led Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to launch pilot programs addressing the problem in 25 schools this fall. This can’t be labeled truancy in the early grades, since most 5- and 6-year-olds don’t stay home without a parent’s knowledge. It’s chronic absence. Unexcused absences become a bigger problem in secondary school. But the bad attendance habits that lead to skipping school can become entrenched...