This article addresses the classroom contextual effects of absences on student achievement. Previous research on peer effects has predominantly focused on peer socioeconomic status or classroom academic ability and its effects on classmates. However, the field has been limited by not discerning the individual-level academic effects of being in classrooms with absent peers.
Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of the Study
The purpose of this study is to determine the peer effects of absent students in urban elementary school classrooms.
Population/Participants/Subjects
The data set is longitudinal and comprises entire populations of five elementary school cohorts within the School District of Philadelphia, for a total of 33,420 student observations. Individual student records were linked to teacher and classroom data and to census block neighborhood information.
Research Design
To examine the educational effects of absent peers, this study employed an empirical specification of the education production function. The dependent variables were Stanford Achievement Test Ninth Edition (SAT9) reading and math scores.
Findings
Models differentiated between unexcused and total absence measures and indicated that the peer effect of absences was driven by negative effects associated with classroom rates of unexcused absences rather with rates of total absences. These findings were obtained after controlling for student, neighborhood, teacher, and classroom characteristics.
Conclusions/Recommendations
Not only are absences detrimental to the absentee, but they also have a pervasive effect on the achievement of other students in the classroom.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlexanderK. L., EntwisleD. R., & HorseyC. S. (1997). From first grade forward: Early foundations of high school dropout. Sociology of Education, 70, 87–107.
2.
AmmermuellerA., & PischkeJ. S. (2006). Peer effects in European primary schools: Evidence from PIRLS. (Discussion Paper No. 06-027). Mannheim, Germany: Centre for European Economic Research.
3.
BalfanzR., & ByrnesV. (2006). Closing the mathematics achievement gap in high-poverty middle schools: Enablers and constraints. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 11, 143–159.
4.
BarringtonB. L., & HendricksB. (1989). Differentiating characteristics of high school graduates, dropouts, and nongraduates. Journal of Educational Research, 82, 309–319.
5.
BealingV. (1990). Pupil perception of absenteeism in the secondary school. Maladjustment and Therapeutic Education, 8, 19–34.
6.
BroadhurstK., PatronK., & May-ChahalC. (2005). Children missing from school systems: Exploring divergent patterns of disengagement in the narrative accounts of parents, careers, children, and young people. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 26, 105–119.
7.
CaldasS. J. (1993). Reexamination of input and process factor effects in public school achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 86, 206–214.
8.
CaldasS. J., & BankstonC.III (1997). Effect of school population socioeconomic status on individual academic achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 90, 269–277.
9.
CatsambisS., & BeveridgeA. A. (2001). Does neighborhood matter? Family, neighborhood, and social influences on eighth grade mathematics achievement. Sociological Focus, 34, 435–457.
10.
ChenC., & StevensonH. W. (1995). Motivation and mathematics achievement: A comparative study of Asian-American, Caucasian, and East Asian high school students. Child Development, 66, 1215–1234.
11.
CoatesD. (2003). Education production functions using instructional time as an input. Education Economics, 11, 273–292.
12.
ColemanJ. S., CampbellE. Q., HobsonC. J., McPartlandJ., MoodA. M., WeinfeldF. D. (1966). Equality of educational opportunity.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
13.
ConnellJ. P., SpencerM. B., & AberJ. L. (1994). Educational risk and resilience in African-American youth: Context, self, action, and outcomes in school. Child Development, 65, 493–506.
14.
DryfoosJ. (1990). Adolescents at risk: Prevalence and prevention.New York: Oxford University Press.
15.
EkstromR. B., GoertzM. E., PollackJ. M., & RockD. A. (1986). Who drops out of high school and why? Findings from a national study. Teachers College Record, 87(3), 356–373.
16.
EpsteinJ. L. (2001). School and family partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
17.
EpsteinJ. L., & SheldonS. B. (2002). Present and accounted for: Improving student attendance through family and community involvement. Journal of Educational Research, 95, 308–318.
18.
FanX., & ChenM. (2001). Parental involvement and students’ academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 1–22.
19.
FergusonR. F. (1991). Paying for public education: New evidence on how and why money matters. Harvard Journal of legislation, 28, 465–497.
20.
FinnJ. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59, 117–142.
21.
FinnJ. D. (1993). School engagement and students at risk.Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
22.
HanushekE. A. (1979). Conceptual and empirical issues in the estimation of education production functions. Journal of Human Resources, 14, 351–88.
23.
HanushekE. A. (1986). The economics of schooling: Production and efficiency in public schools. Journal of Economic Literature, 24, 1141–1178.
24.
HanushekE. A., KainJ. F., MarkmanJ. M., & RivkinS. G. (2003). Does peer ability affect student achievement?Journal of Applied Econometrics, 18, 527–544.
25.
HarteA. J. (1995). Improving school attendance: Responsibility and challenge.Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Education Association.
26.
HendersonV., MieszkowskiP., & SauvageauY. (1978). Peer group effects and educational production functions. Journal of Public Economics, 10, 97–106.
27.
HessG. A., LyonsA., CorsinoL., & WellsE. (1989). Against the odds: The early identification of dropouts.Chicago: Chicago Panel on Public School Policy and Finance.
28.
HoxbyC. (2000). The effects of class size on student achievement: New evidence from population variation. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115, 1239–1285.
29.
JeynesW. H. (2003). A meta-analysis: The effects of parental involvement on minority children's academic achievement. Education and Urban Society, 35, 202–218.
30.
KaneJ. (2006). School exclusions and masculine, working-class identities. Gender and Education, 18, 673–685.
31.
KearneyC. A., & SilvermanW. K. (1995). Family environment of youngsters with school refusal behavior: A synopsis with implications for assessment and treatment. American Journal of Family Therapy, 23, 59–72.
32.
JohnsonG. M. (2005). Student alienation, academic achievement, and WebCT Use. Educational Technology and Society, 8, 179–189.
33.
LazearE. P. (2001). Educational production. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116, 777–803.
34.
LehrC. A., HansenA., SinclairM. F., & ChristensonS. L. (2003). Moving beyond dropout prevention to school completion: An integrative review of data based interventions. School Psychology Review, 32, 342–364.
35.
LinkC. R., & MulliganJ. G. (1991). Classmates’ effects on Black student achievement in public school classrooms. Economics of Education Review, 10, 297–310.
36.
McEwanP. (2003). Peer effects on student achievement: Evidence from Chile. Economics of Education Review, 60, 131–141.
37.
McNealR. B. (1999). Parental involvement as social capital: Differential effectiveness on science achievement, truancy, and dropping out. Social Forces, 78, 117–144.
38.
MonkD. H., & IbrahimM. A. (1984). Patterns of absence and pupil achievement. American Education Research Journal, 21, 295–310.
39.
MullerC. (1993). Parental involvement and academic achievement: An analysis of family resources available to the child. In SchneiderB., & ColemanJ. S. (Eds.), Parents, their children, and schools. (pp. 77–114). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
40.
NeildR. C., & BalfanzR. (2006). An extreme degree of difficulty: The educational demographics of urban neighborhood schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 11, 123–141.
41.
NewmannF. (1981). Reducing student alienation in high schools: Implications of theory. Harvard Educational Review, 51, 546–564.
42.
OgbuJ. U. (1989). The individual in collective adaptation: A framework for focusing on academic underperformance and dropping out among involuntary minorities. In WeisL., FarrarE., & PetrieH. G. (Eds.), Dropouts from school: Issues, dilemmas, and solutions. (pp. 181–204). Albany: State University of New York Press.
43.
ReidK. (1983). Institutional factors and persistent school absenteeism. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 11, 17–27.
44.
RobyD. E. (2004). Research on school attendance and student achievement: A study of Ohio schools. Educational Research Quarterly, 28, 3–14.
45.
RumbergerR. W. (1995). Dropping out of middle school: A multilevel analysis of students and schools. American Education Research Journal, 32, 583–625.
SheldonS. B. (2003). Linking school-family-community partnerships in urban elementary schools to student achievement on state tests. Urban Review, 35, 149–165.
48.
SheldonS. B. (2007). Improving student attendance with school, family, and community partnerships. Journal of Education Research, 100, 267–275.
49.
SlavinR. E. (1999). Educating young students at risk of school failure: Research, practice, and policy. In StevensR. (Ed.), Teaching in American schools. (pp. 103–119). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
50.
SouthworthP. (1992). Psychological and social characteristics associated with persistent absence among secondary aged school children with special reference to different categories of persistent absence. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 367–376.
51.
Stouthamer-LoeberM., & LoeberR. (1988). The use of prediction data in understanding delinquency. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 6, 333–354.
52.
SummersB., & WolfeA. (1977). Do schools make a difference?American Economic Review, 67, 639–652.
53.
WillmsJ. D. (1986). Social class segregation and its relationship to pupils’ examination results in Scotland. American Sociological Review, 51, 224–241.
54.
ZimmerR. W., & TomaE. F. (2000). Peer effects in private and public schools across countries. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 19, 75–92.
