ED Source – Jane Meredith Adams
“Now that the California Department of Education has announced it will for the first time collect chronic absenteeism data – an early indicator of students at risk of dropping out – advocates are pressing the State Board of Education to include that information in the accountability system it is creating under the new federal education law. The state board, which at its March 9-10 meeting will discuss the “multiple measures” of accountability it is considering under the new Every Student Succeeds Act, has shown little enthusiasm for chronic absenteeism rates as a performance indicator in the past, arguing that a less precise indicator of attendance would have to do because that was the only data the state collected, said Hedy Chang, executive director of the Oakland-based national nonprofit Attendance Works.”(more)