The Impact of Engaging Teachers on Student Attendance in Secondary School

Complete report

 

Teachers’ impact on student long - run success is only partially explained by their contributions to students’ short - run academic performance . 

This study explored a second dimension of teacher effectiveness by creating measures of teachers’ contributions to student class - attendance .

The researchers find systematic variation in teacher effectiveness at reducing unexcused class absences at the middle and high school level . These differences across teachers are as stable as those for student achievement , but teacher effectiveness on attendance o nly weakly correlate s with their effects on achievement . 

The researchers link these measures of teacher effectiveness to students’ long - run outcomes. A high value - added to attendance teacher has a stronger impact on student s ’ likelihood of finish ing high school than does a high value - added to achievement teacher . Moreover , high value - added to attendance teachers can motivate students to pursue high er academic goals as measured by Advanced Placement course taking . These positive effects are particularly salient for low - achieving and low - attendance students.