EA 1.3

SCHOOL ABSENTEEISM: PERCENTAGE OF EIGHTH GRADE AND TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS WHO WERE ABSENT FROM SCHOOL THREE OR MORE DAYS IN THE PRECEDING MONTH

Student absenteeism is associated with poorer achievement in school, among other outcomes. For example, absenteeism is one of five personal and family background factors that accounted for 91 percent of the variation in states’ mathematics scores.⁶

Differences Across Grade Levels. The percentage of eighth grade students who were absent from school three or more days in the preceding month has remained relatively constant at around 22 percent between 1990 and 1994 (see Table EA 1.3). During the same time period, a slightly larger percentage of twelfth grade students were absent from school for that length of time, with percentages ranging between 26 and 31 percent.
 

Figure EA 1.3   Percentage of 8th and 12th Grade Students Who Were Absent from School Three or More Days in the Preceding Month, by Parents’ Education Level: 1994

Note: The data for this table come from the 1994 National Reading Assessment. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1994.

Differences by Race and Ethnicity.⁷ There are notable differences in school absenteeism among racial and ethnic groups. Among eighth graders in 1994, Native American students, at 39 percent, were by far the most likely to have been absent 3 or more days in the preceding month. White and Asian students had the lowest absentee rates at 20 and 21 percent, respectively, followed by black and Hispanic students at 27 and 28 percent, respectively. The patterns are similar for 12th grade students, though the differences range from lows of 26–28 percent for white and Asian students to a high of 53 percent for Native Americans.

Differences by Parents’ Educational Levels. Absentee rates among students also differ by parents’ educational levels (see Figure EA 1.3) Absences from school were highest for students whose parents have less than a high school education. In 1994, for example, 33 percent of eighth graders whose parents lacked a high school diploma were absent from school 3 or more days, compared to 18 percent of their peers who had at least one parent with a college degree.

Differences by Type of School. Students who attended private or Catholic schools also experienced fewer school absences than did students from public schools across all grades and years (see Table EA 1.3).
 

Table EA 1.3 School Absenteeism: Percentage of 8th and 12th Grade Students Who Were Absent from School Three or More Days in the Preceding Month, by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Parents’ Education Level, and Type of School: 1990, 1992, and 1994
					——8th Grade——			——12th Grade——
					1990	1992	1994	1990	1992	1994
					———	———	———	———	———	———
Total					23	22	22	31	26	28
	Gender
		Male			21	21	22	29	24	27
		Female			24	24	22	32	27	28
	Race/Ethnicity
		White, non-Hispanic			22	21	20	31	24	26
		Black, non-Hispanic			23	22	27	30	29	32
		Hispanic			27	31	28	34	32	32
		Asian/Pacific American			9	12	21	32	19	28
		American Indian/Alaskan Native			37	38	39	28	31	53
	Parents’ Education Level
		Less than high school			38	31	33	41	30	36
		Graduated high school			27	23	26	34	28	30
		Education after high school			22	21	22	31	26	27
		Graduated college			15	19	18	27	23	25
	Type of School
		Public			23	23	23	31	27	28
		Catholic or other private			13	14	15	24	17	21
Note: The sample for this table is based on the 1990 and 1992 National Math Assessments, and 1994 National Reading Assessment.  Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1990, 1992, and 1994.

⁷ Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races.
 

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