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School Absences Translate to Lower Test Scores, Study Says

Minutes spent on homework on the rise

Washington

Missing even a few days of school seems to make a difference in whether 8th graders perform at the top of their game, according to a new analysis of results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The report, the first of a planned series of analyses of NAEP's background-survey data, looks at how 4th and 8th graders use existing school time, including their attendance, instructional time, and homework. It was previewed here at a Nov. 29 meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP. The study found that instructional time in reading, math, music, and the visual arts is on the rise nationwide, and that teachers are expecting more homework from their middle school students. As schools ramp up their academic focus, however, the analysis shows the cost of missing school may be greater.

Fifty-six percent of 8th graders who performed at the advanced level in NAEP reading in 2011 had perfect attendance in the month before the test, compared with only 39 percent of students who performed...