OECD (2000)

D5
Student Absenteeism
POLICY CONTEXT
High levels of student absenteeism during the school year can have a
negative impact on students’ opportunity to learn. This indicator will examine
the average rate of absenteeism across schools, the percentage of schools in
different countries that have a relatively high absenteeism rate (5 per cent or
more) and whether these schools are associated with lower learning achievements.
The indicator is based on data from the Third International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMSS).
Student absenteeism
is relatively uncommon
in Japan and Korea.
EVIDENCE AND EXPLANATIONS
High levels of student absenteeism and turnover during the school year
can also have a negative impact on students’ opportunity to learn. In TIMSS,
head teachers were asked what percentage of students in their school were
absent for any reason on a typical day. The percentage of 8th-grade students
enrolled in schools that had a daily student absenteeism rate of 5 per cent or
more ranged from under 5 per cent in Japan and Korea to over 75 per cent in
Australia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
In most countries, school absenteeism is negatively associated with the
average mathematics performance of 8th-graders, even after controlling for the
grade range in the schools. This suggests that relatively frequent absenteeism
is harmful for students’ learning achievement. However, such a causal relationship
cannot directly be deduced from the data shown here since there might
be factors such as the students’ socio-economic background, simultaneously
influencing absenteeism and performance. Moreover, it is clear that many
other factors are important for determining students’ performance.
DEFINITIONS
These data are based on the principal questionnaire administered as part
of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (IEA/TIMSS), undertaken
by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational
Achievement (IEA) during the school year 1994/95.
© OECD 2000
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