Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: School-level academic performances are a matter of major concern to policy-makers in the United States.Outcomes such as standardized exam performances and graduation rates are considered important measures of school quality, and falling short on them can have detrimental consequences for schools due to federal policy guidelines.However, an important -and often overlooked -factor in enabling student success is student attendance rates.In order for schools to be most effective in preparing students to succeed, those students must first attend school regularly.However, conditions in neighborhoods in which schools are located may influence student attendance.In particular, prevalence of violent crime within a neighborhood can create the sense of a chaotic environment in which students are afraid to go to school and parents are concerned about sending their children there regularly.In this research, I use data from the Ohio Department of Education and the National Neighborhood Crime Survey to show that neighborhood violent crime rates have negative effects on school attendance rates, even when student and school characteristics are accounted for.I also find that the degree of socioeconomic disadvantage within a school negatively impacts student attendance, while teacher attendance rates are positively correlated with those of students.
Author: Darci L. Smith
Institution: University of Cincinnati
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W13492337