The Core Knowledge Blog

More than 90,000 of New York City’s elementary school students–20 percent–missed at least a month of classes during the last school year, according to a new report from the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School.

In the early grades, attendance is a strong predictor of long-term success. National research suggests that chronic absenteeism in the early grades sets the stage for school failure later on. Children who miss a large number of school days in kindergarten or first grade tend to have lower levels of academic achievement throughout their school careers. Sadly, there are high levels of chronic absenteeism in New York City elementary schools, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.

It’s great to see this issue getting some attention, but forgive me if I’m utterly unsurprised, and a little disgusted.  The New York Times calls chronic absenteeism an “invisible problem” but it’s anything but to teachers in New York’s most blighted inner city neighborhoods.  Frankly, it’s also another unintended consequence of system in which The Test is the alpha and omega.  In my South Bronx elementary school we regularly promoted students who missed dozens of school days, as long as they passed — or even came close to passing – a single standardized test.  In a particularly acute case, I fought unsuccessfully to have one of my 5th graders held over who missed nearly 100 school days.  He received a 1 (below grade level) on his state math test and a 2 (”approaching” grade level) on his ELA exam and was passed without even having to attend summer school.  As long as he scored a 2 or better on either of the tests, I was told, he had to be promoted.  God help that kid.  Three years later, I still get angry thinking about it.  

In theory, I asked an administrator, could a child come to school only on the day of the state test, pass, and still be promoted?  It was a rhetorical question.  The answer was sitting in my classroom.  Occasionally.