In this brief examining absences in September and later  schools attendance, we found the September absences predicted later  chronic absence, missing more than 20 days a year) after controlling for student demographic characteristics, service receipt, and attendance the previous school year (2011-12). Students who missed 2 or more days in September were significantly more likely to be chronically absent for the year. In fact,

  • Students who missed 2 to 4 days in September were 5 times more likely to be chronically absent than students who were absent fewer than 2 days
  • Students who missed more than 4 days were over 16 times as likely to be chronically absent than students who were absent fewer than 2 days

Read the full brief.