Trend Data 
EDUCATED 
- IMPROVE School Performance GOCF outcome indicator: school attendance 
 for elementary, middle, and high school students School attendance is vital to school performance: the more children are in school, the more likely they are to retain information and perform well. 
Georgia Children Absent More Than 15 Days From School 
15.0% 
 
10.0% 
 
5.0% 
 
2004 
 
2005 
 
2006 
 
2007 
 
2008 
 
Data Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center, 2009. 
 
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, "Regular attendance is essential to providing students with opportunities to learn, and these opportunities are limited when students do not attend school." Nationally, this group formed a task force to help schools and school districts accurately collect and record student attendance. Although attendance policies vary by school district, excessive absences limit the classroom interaction time among students, teachers, and classmates. As a student is absent more days, he or she is at risk for falling behind in a given course, eliciting a negative effect on grades. A 1996 report by the US Department of Education and US Department of Justice linked truancy (skipping school) to dropping out of school, unnecessarily prompting children to turn to crime. 
 
Data sources: Georgia Department of Education, 2010. National Center for Education Statistics, 2010. National Center for School Engagement: Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. Manual to Combat Truancy: US Department of Education; US Department of Justice, 1996. 
May 2010 
 
 Trend Data 
10 Things A School Can Do To Improve Attendance 
1. Make students and parents/guardians feel welcome 2. Enable students to feel successful 
3. Talk to a parent/guardian when a student is absent 4. talk to the student about his/her absence 5. Encourage businesses to combat truancy 
6. Empower law officials to return truant youth to schools 7. Don't provide temptation for youth to be truant 
8. Empower teachers to take action if they believe a student is truant 9. Reward and recognize good attendance 
10. Make schools a place where students feel safe and respected