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Institute of Education Sciences

Measuring Attendance during COVID-19: Considerations for Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Environments

The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) is an IES-funded R&D Center that has established a continuous improvement network of 50 rural districts in New York and Ohio. The purpose of the Network is to build the capacity of rural school districts and supporting state agencies to use their own data to improve the education of their students. Districts are currently tackling the problem of student absenteeism through piloting, evaluating, and improving various interventions.  Katherine Kieninger, David Hersh, and Jennifer Ash describe how the Network is tackling the problem of measuring attendance during COVID-19, taking into consideration the various learning environments.

 

NCRERN has been working to develop a viable attendance construct given that districts and schools are currently struggling with how to define and track attendance for remote or blended learning models. When students are not physically present, the typical observe-and-log model of attendance tracking is not an option. However, not tracking attendance is not an option either given the importance of attendance for identifying at-risk students, predicting key student outcomes, and acting during the pandemic as a proxy for the general safety and well-being of students.

We considered several possible attendance constructs and assessed them by the degree to which they met the following criteria. First, a viable construct should be measurable equitably across all students and learning environments, including in-person, synchronous and asynchronous virtual internet-accessible environments, and asynchronous environments without internet access. The attendance construct should also be simple to understand, easy to capture, and quick to collect. Finally, access to technology and reliable low-cost high-speed internet must be considered, especially in rural areas lacking such infrastructure.

We concluded that tracking student exposure to instructional content best meets these criteria, as seen in the table below. While not without its own challenges, exposure to content is the least complicated option, can be tracked across learning environments consistently and is the closest in principal to what in-person attendance captures.

 

Attendance Construct

Simple

Easy to Capture

All Students

High Frequency

Reliable & Valid

Consistent Across Grade Levels

Consistent across Virtual OR In-Person

In-Person Attendance

X

Exposure to Instructional Content

Participation

X

?

?

Assignment Submission

X

Engagement

X

X

X

Mastery

X

?

X

X

X

 

In guidance provided to Network districts, we use the table below to outline how to define tracking exposure to content across the learning environments, suggest capture options, and provide a non-exhaustive list of considerations for school district stakeholders. Districts should acknowledge that a student can float between learning environments. For example, an in-person student in quarantine and healthy enough to continue classwork will become a virtual learner. Based on their individual home context, this could place a student in any of the three virtual environments. Creating a plan for seamless attendance tracking across learning environments is key to measuring attendance with fidelity.

 

Attendance Construct: Exposure to Instructional Content

Learning Environment

Definition

Capture Options

Considerations

In-Person

Student is present

Student Information System (SIS)

  • Will in-person students be able to log in for remote learning if they are not able to come to school?*

*For example, a student must miss school for an extended period (i.e. needs to quarantine)

Virtual

 

Synchronous

Student is present for virtual class

Student Information System (SIS)

  • Can you avoid concurrent classes for students in the same family?
  • If a student loses internet, do you have an asynchronous back-up option for course content?

Virtual

 

Asynchronous with Internet Access

Student affirmatively accessed content

Learning Management System (LMS) log-in with a minimum time threshold

OR

Daily form completion (form asks students on what content they worked)

  • How/when will teachers capture results in the SIS?
  • How do you count daily attendance for different class periods?
  • If using LMS log-in option, what is the minimum amount of time a student needs to be logged in?
  • If using a daily form, what question(s) will you ask?
    • We recommend a low threshold equivalent to something a student who was present could answer regardless of their level of engagement.

Virtual

 

Asynchronous without Internet Access

Student affirmatively accessed content

Contact each student for whom the above guidance does not or cannot apply.

 

Student is absent only if they have not worked on any instructional content.

  • How will you know when a student does not have internet access, therefore need to call?
  • How do you contact the students who many not have consistent cell service or a landline?
  • What time of day will you contact students or caregivers?
  • How many attempts does a teacher or staff member need to make per day before a student is marked absent?
  • How will you address unresponsive caregivers?
  • How will you count daily attendance for different class periods in MS/HS?
  • If students have multiple content teachers, who will reach out to students?

 

In the guidance, we also considered assignment submission as a potentially viable attendance construct. An equitable implementation of an assignment submission construct across all learning environments, however, would result in one unique challenge: Would a school district be willing to mark an in-person student absent for the day if the student failed to submit an assignment? While surmountable, addressing this issue would be challenging in the short-term.

As school districts finalize their attendance measurement plans, they will need to ensure that any selected attendance measurements are feasible and sustainable for the duration of the school year for the individuals capturing attendance. This includes considering how long tracking attendance will take for teachers and additional staff members daily. Gathering feedback from teachers and staff regarding the ongoing execution of gathering attendance data is key to ensuring reliable attendance tracking within a district.

 

We welcome individuals to reach out to NCRERN with additional recommendations or considerations. We are also interested in hearing how attendance is being measured in practice at school districts across the country. Connect with NCRERN via email at ncrern@gse.harvard.edu.


Katherine Kieninger, M.P.A. is the Ohio State Network Manager for the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.

David Hersh, J.D., Ph.D. is the Director of Proving Ground at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.

Jennifer Ash, Ph.D. is the Director of the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.

This is the second in a series of blog posts focusing on conducting education research during COVID-19. Other blog posts in this series include Conducting Education Research During COVID-19.