has a system that at one point measured 200 separate indicators. Most systems focus on just three ele-
ments – attendance, behavior and course performance – the so-called “ABC ap- proach” developed by noted dropout expert Robert Balfanz of Johns Hopkins. A red flag on attendance, for instance, might come if a student was to miss 20 days in the school year or 10 percent of the school year. Two or
more serious disciplinary infractions might also become a warning sign. So too could a sudden drop in classroom performance. There is a pilot program launched under
the leadership of the CDE last fall, where nine volunteer districts and 20 schools are using an early warning system developed by the National High School Center with support from the American Institutes for Research and WestEd. Results of the pilot could con-
tribute to a best practices program that mid- dle and high schools could share in the fu- ture. But if the state were to require districts to report individual attendance data, the state would have to pay for it, noted SI&A’s Gerry Shelton, vice president of education policy. “There is clearly a budget question with this and concerns over creating another new reimbursable state mandate,” he said. Kirst said he is interested in having
schools report their attendance records using the existing School Accountability Re- port Cards – already a state-funded activity that requires districts to report information about individual school sites. “If you plugged it into the school report
card, you would see attendance in a broader context of school variables,” he said. “At- tendance can be influenced by many other things and a properly functioning School Accountability Report Card could provide that.”
Children reaching their potential Children Now, one of the state’s leading
advocacy groups engaged with educational and health issues, was one of the key spon- sors of Steinberg’s bill two years ago and continues to place school attendance moni- toring high on its list. “We see a continuum of learning,” said
Brad Strong, a legislative advocate with Chil- dren Now. “That means that they need to be ready to start school; reading by grade three; given the support they need in the middle years; and ready to graduate on time from high school.” To ensure that each child in Califor-
nia has a chance to reach those potentials, Strong said it is essential that school atten- dance be monitored. “School attendance is one of those early
indicators of when something might be going wrong – not just academically but in other phases of a child’s life, too,” he said. “We’re still strongly in favor of gathering, analyzing and acting on attendance infor- mation.” n
Tom Chorneau is managing editor of SI&A’s Cabi- net Report, an online news service for California’s education community:
www.siacabinetreport.com.
28 Leadership
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