BSISD Campus Attendance
Why Does Attendance Matter?
A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. The primary rationale for high-quality attendance data is the relationship between student attendance and student achievement. Teacher effectiveness is the strongest school-related determinant of student success, but chronic student absence reduces even the best teacher's ability to provide learning opportunities. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. A recent study looking at young children found that absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with negative first grade outcomes such as greater absenteeism in subsequent years and lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge.
Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes as well. High school dropouts have been found to exhibit a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates. These differences in absentee rates were observed as early as kindergarten, and students who eventually dropped out of high school missed significantly more days of school in first grade than their peers who graduated from high school. In eighth grade, this pattern was even more apparent and, by ninth grade, attendance was shown to be a key indicator significantly correlated with high school graduation.
- "Why Does Attendance Matter" published by National Center for Education Statistics
Big Spring ISD Compulsory Attendance-Truancy
"90 Percent Rule"
In addition to Texas compulsory attendance laws, districts are required to enforce the 90 percent rule which states that students in grades Kindergarten through twelfth must attend a class for 90 percent of the time it is offered to receive credit or a final grade. This rule applies even if your child has an IEP or 504 Plan.
A student who is in attendance for at least 75 percent, but less than 90 percent, of the days a class is offered, may be given credit or a final grade if the student completes a plan approved by the principal that provides for the student to meet the instructional requirements of the class.
The 90 percent rule applies to all absences (excluding those exempt by law), including excused absences.
For elementary students, this means they could repeat a grade if they are in school less than 90 percent of school days. A middle or high school student may have to repeat a class that they received a passing grade in if they did not attend that class at least 90 percent of the days of the class.