10.01.08

“Common sense and research suggest that being in school consistently is important to ensuring children gain a strong foundation for subsequent learning,” says the report, "Present, Engaged, and Accounted For," from the National Center for Children in Poverty, at Columbia University.

The analysis joins a small but growing body of research on absenteeism in the early grades, an issue that experts say is often eclipsed by concerns about truancy among older students. Among the many reasons to focus on this largely “overlooked” issue, the report’s authors suggest, is that improving early-grades attendance can help schools meet their achievement goals under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Chronic absence in the early grades—which the researchers define as missing at least 10 percent of the school year through both excused and unexcused absences—is probably more common than some school officials and parents think, the report says. And that’s partly because hard data on the problem are often lacking.