Causes of Nonattendance and Its Effect on Student Achievement at the High School Level

Many high schools in America have issues with student nonattendance. The researcher designed this mixed methods study to determine the affect of nonattendance on student achievement and to ascertain whether home-related factors or school-related factors were more significant causes of nonattendance. Both the high school in this study and other similar schools may use the results to develop effective nonattendance intervention programs. The researcher used cluster sampling to determine the sample population. She then collected attendance data (the number of absences each student had during one semester) and achievement data (each student’s Grade Point Average during that same semester) about each of the participants. To determine the affect of attendance on student achievement, the researcher found the correlation and regression statistics of the two data sets. The author concluded that, at the high school in question, there was a small negative correlation between student attendance and student achievement; therefore, in most cases, the more absences a student had, the lower his or her Grade Point Average. The researcher surveyed the same sample population to ascertain whether home-related factors or school-related factors were more significant causes of nonattendance. The survey consisted of four parts, the first three of which were used to collect information regarding the causes of nonattendance. The final part of the survey was used to collect demographic and family background information from the participants. The researcher concluded that home-related factors were more iii significant causes of student non-attendance than school-related factors. However, in terms of influencing student attendance, student perceptions of and attitudes about both home and school were found to be equally important. The researcher gleaned some surprising information from the study surveys, the implications of which are vital to solving the problem of nonattendance. The researcher also noted several areas in which her data indicated that further study would be beneficial. These areas include, but are not limited to, parental perceptions and attitudes about school, the impact of race on student attendance, and the relationship between parents’ levels of education and student attendance