The Effects of Attendance on Achievement in Math Classes

The Effects of Attendance on Achievement in Math Classes
A proposal
Presented to the
Graduate Faculty of
Troy University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for
EDU 6691
By
Lisa A. Purvee


Chapter I
Statement of the Problem
Attendance plus effort equals achievement. School is a very important part of the lives of American students. Having an education can lead to life changing opportunities. Attending school does not necessarily guarantee an excellent education. For most students, however, education begins with attending the local high school. Students are expected to attend school 175 to 180 times per year. There are many students, however, who are not attending school as much as the law requires. Some students have health problems that prevent them from attending class. Others experience difficulties at home that may prevent them from coming to school. Still others simply choose to be truant. This may be due to peer pressure or the lack of interest towards school and learning.
Students who are not present in the learning environment are much less likely to reach their full, academic potential. Students who skip class miss important material. This leads to students getting behind in their studies. Test scores begin to fall which can lead to frustration for the students. Students who experience falling test scores begin to feel apathy towards school which can lead to poorer attendance.
With some classes, it may be easy to catch up after being absent. Sometimes a hand out will be enough to get the student caught up on missed material. Math classes are a little different than other academic classes. It might be a little more difficult for students to catch up on material they have missed while being absent. Some students can read over the lesson missed, but few are able to comprehend the lesson without someone showing them how to solve math problems. This is why class attendance is so important.
Because math lessons build on each other, it is important to be in class as often as possible. Once a lesson is missed, the following lesson will seem even more difficult. Many times the previous lesson is needed for the upcoming lessons. This can be frustrating and can lead to lower test grades. Students may also feel rushed when trying to learn the material they have missed. When students feel rushed, they may get overwhelmed and lose the desire to try and catch up. Students can, however, make up the day missed by attending after school help class or tutoring. This can help with getting the student where he or she needs to be for the next lesson. Class attendance is a must when excellence is desired among students.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of attendance on test scores in math classes. Administrators, teachers, and parents need to gain a better understanding of how attendance impacts students test scores in math classes. Knowing the effects of the absenteeism is a vital part in reaching solutions to this growing problem. Incentives can be established to encourage student attendance. Policies can be made to reward those who attend school regularly. Programs can be implemented to prevent students from forming the habit of truancy.
The study will compare the test scores and grade averages of students in upper level math class. Class attendance will be monitored throughout the entire school year. Most students are allowed to miss 10 days of class each year. This study will show how attendance affects test scores in upper level math classes.
Significance of the Study
There have been many times when a parent will call a parent-teacher conference to discuss her child’s math grades. The child’s grades are low and do not seem to be getting better. As the conference begins, the teacher explains that the student has been absent quite often—once every two weeks. Some parents do not realize that missing one day of school can lead to a domino effect of troubling times at school. Math usually builds upon itself. If one class is missed, then the following day will seem very difficult for the student. The student will have to learn two lessons in one day. This can get frustrating for the student who feels lost when the lesson is being presented.
Many students stay home from school because they do not feel well. There is a difference between not feeling well and being sick. Parents must distinguish between the two. When students complain of not “feeling good” in the morning, they may simply be tired from staying up too late. If parents understand the challenge students face when they return to school, then they may be more likely to not let their child stay home when they claim to not feel well.
Many studies have been formed concerning the effects of attendance on achievement. Few studies have been undertaken dealing specifically with math classes. Some studies have shown that attendance does not affect achievement. Others have shown that there is a positive correlation between attendance and achievement. This study will focus on math classes and how attendance affects the test scores of the students.
Definition of Terms
Calculus--a method of calculation, especially one of several highly systematic methods of treating problems by a special system of algebraic notations, as differential or integral calculus.
Trigonometry-- the branch of mathematics that deals with the relations between the sides and angles of plane or spherical triangles, and the calculations based on them.
Attendance—being present in the classroom during instruction.
Test scores--the scores of the tests taken in the classroom.
Refusal behavior—all attempts to miss school.
Limitations
Dothan High School and Northview High School are located in Dothan, Alabama. Dothan is located in the southern region of Alabama. Both schools have approximately 1,300 students. The study will focus on the upper level math classes. These classes are usually chosen by the students, and their parents, for honors and advanced diplomas. Students who choose to take these upper level math classes will more likely strive for excellence in the class. The classes will consist of 25 students. The researcher will be investigating four classes. Two classes will be Trigonometry. The other two classes will be Calculus. Both teachers are veteran teachers and they have been teaching these courses for over 10 years.
Students who attend help classes with their teacher after school will be considered present for the day they have missed. If students are willing to stay after school to gain a better understanding of the material missed, then they are more likely to do better than those who do not take the time to stay after school for tutoring.
Hypothesis
Student attendance positively affects test scores. The more students attend class, the higher their test scores. The study will show that students who attend most often will have higher test averages than those who miss class.






Chapter II
Review of Literature
Positive Findings
There have been many studies focusing on attendance and achievement; however, little if any has focused on how attendance affects high school students enrolled in upper level mathematics courses. The following support the hypothesis of this quantitative study. These studies range from elementary level classes to college level courses.
Robert E. Ledman and Felix Kamuche (2002) conducted a two year study on how attendance affects test performance and student learning in a college statistics course. The study was conducted on a college level, but none the less, showed that attendance affects test scores. Their study supported the hypothesis that attendance positively affects test scores.
The correlation between student test performance and number of absences was 0.90. That correlation suggests a very strong linear relationship between the number of student absences and their test performance. (2002)
It would seem obvious that the more classes one misses, the lower the test scores one receives. Students may not realize that missing just a few classes can have a detrimental effect on academic performance. Ledman and Kamuche (2002) found “that student test performance declined significantly after more than one absence.” We must note that there is a difference in college courses and high school classes. College courses last for only one semester, while high school classes generally last two semesters. Missing two classes in high school may not have as big of an impact as missing two classes in college. While this article focuses on college courses, it shows how important class attendance is to test performance.
Another study in a college setting supporting the hypothesis was conducted in a General Psychology course. Clump, Bauer, and Alex’s (2003) study looked at how attendance on unannounced quiz days affected unit test scores and overall test scores in the class. They found that students who were present on the day of a quiz scored better on the test taken later covering the same material.
There was a significant effect of attendance on overall test scores in the class. The students who were present for all three quizzes had significantly higher overall test scores than other students. The current study demonstrates the importance of attendance on both immediate test scores and overall test scores. . . student attendance remains essential for success in a course. (2003)
While attendance does not guarantee an A in the class, class attendance is imperative for success to be achieved.
Gump’s (2005) study was held in a college setting. Steven E. Gump found the same results when he studied 300 undergraduate students. One class, Introduction to the Japanese Culture, gave a great example of how attendance affects grades. From fall of 2001 to spring of 2003 students with zero absences had a final grade average of 89.2. Students with more than five absences had final grade averages of 64.3 and below. (Gump, 2005)
Douglas E. Roby’s (2004) study of Ohio public schools found that there was a moderate to strong correlation between attendance and achievement rates. This study looked at fourth, sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades. The greatest correlation of the four grades was the ninth grade. The correlation coefficient for ninth grade was 0.78.


Other Findings
Durden and Ellis (1995) found that test performance on nationally standardized tests did not significantly go down until after the fourth absence in the economics courses he studied.
Reasons for Being Absent
Students with medical problems are more likely to miss school due to their medical condition. One study looked at students with asthma and how their academic performance was affected by absenteeism. Sheniz Moonie, David A. Sterling, Larry W. Figgs, and Mario Castro (2008) found that “academic performance and absenteeism are strongly related.” Their findings also suggested that students with asthma are more likely to be absent than those students who do not have asthma.
Mary Wimmer (2008) explained that anxiety was one reason students did not want to attend school. While this only made up 2%-5% of students with school refusal behavior, truancy and other unexcused absences made up an additional 23%-26% of students with the this same behavior. Wimmer (2008) gave suggestions concerning what schools can do to help with refusal behavior. Suggestions include: giving awards for school attendance, working with parents to monitor attendance, and providing academic supports for students who refuse school because they have academic difficulties.
What Next?
Ledman and Kamuche (2002) suggested that more studies be conducted on different courses. They felt Mathematics was one area that needed to be studied concerning attendance and test performance. With math relying heavily on process, it is extremely important that students are present during instruction time. It is during instruction time that the process is taught.
Chapter III
Methodology
This study will focus on how attendance affects test scores in designated mathematics classes. Attendance will be taken daily in each class. The final exam will be the test with which scores will be compared. The test scores of students who are absent will be compared to the test scores of students who are not absent or have fewer absences. This process will take place throughout the entire school year.
The issue that must be addressed is whether students who are absent attended after school help class to compensate for the missed class period. This can potentially affect the missed class period. Students who attend after school help class can get the same instruction as in the classroom if ample amount of time is spent on the lesson missed.
Research Questions
1. How many days was each student absent throughout the year?
2. Did the student attend after school help class to make up for the time missed in regular class time?
3. Did the student study for the test by working problems?
4. How long did the student study?
5. Does the student strive for a grade of excellence?
6. Are there significant differences in the test scores of students with high absentee rates compared to students with low absentee rates?
Population
The study will take place in the Dothan City school system located in Dothan, Alabama. All of the students in the Trigonometry and Calculus classes of both Northview High and Dothan High will be the subjects of this study. There are approximately 100 students involved in the study. Females make up majority of the students with 70%. Seventy-five percent of this study’s total population is Caucasian. African-Americans make up another 15%. Ten percent of the students are Asian, while the remaining five percent are Latino. The majority of the students in these two classes are good students with few discipline problems.
Most of the students in this study are taking these difficult math classes in order to receive an honors diploma. These classes are not required for graduation, but are required for honors/advanced diplomas. The math students in these upper level math classes are more likely to care about their grades, and thus more likely to study for tests. While there may be some that do not have a desire for an excellent grade, most of them are expected to put forth an effort to make a good grade.
Instrumentation
It is expected that the study will show a positive correlation between attendance and the test scores of the participants. A cumulative final exam will be used to help determine if there is a positive correlation between attendance and test scores. The test scores of those with absences will be compared with those who have perfect attendance. The amount of absences will also be a factor that will be considered. Students with fewer absences will be compared to students with greater absences.
Students will be given questionnaires to respond to the research questions in this study. The results of the questionnaires will be compared to see if study habits also affect test scores. This will only be considered when students who are absent have a higher mean score compared to those who are present. Students who do not study may receive the same test scores or lower than those who are absent and do study. This would be considered a special case, but would need to be mentioned with the results of the study.
Ethical Treatment of Population
The principal of each school and the students from each class, along with their parents, must agree to take part in the study. Students will receive permission slips that describe the details of the study and how each student will contribute to the study and results. Both parent(s) and students must sign indicating that permission is granted before the study begins. Participants can later decide not to participate in the study without penalty. Confidentiality is of utmost importance. Test and questionnaire results will be kept confidential and will only be used for the specified study.
Data Analysis
Descriptive analysis will be used to analyze the data in this study. The following variables will be included in SPSS: the number of days each student is absent, the number of days students attended help class, the length of time students studied for the exam, does the student strive for excellence, and the students’ grades. A t-test will be implemented to determine if there is a significant difference of each variable. The researcher will focus on the correlation between attendance and students’ grades. Descriptive data will be investigated to aid in determining the findings in this study.





References
Clump, Michael A., Heather Bauer, Whiteleather Alex (2005). “To attend or not to attend: is that a good question?” Journal of Instructional Psychology 30.3: 220(5).
Durden, G.C. and Ellis, L.V. (1995). The effects of attendance on student learning in principles of economics. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 343-346.
Gump, Steven E. (2005). “The cost of cutting class: attendance as a predictor of student success.” College Teaching 53.1: 21(6). Professional Collection. Gale. Troy University (AVL).
Ledman, Robert E., Felix Kamuche. (2002) “Improving student attendance: does it improve student learning? (The scholarship of teaching and learning).” Academic Exchange Quarterly 6.1:76(5). Academic OneFile. Gale. Troy University (AVL).
Moonie, Sheniz, David A. Sterling, Larry W. Figgs, Mario Castro. (2008) “The relationship between school absence, academic performance, and asthma status. (Research Article)(Report).” Journal of School Health 78.3:140(9). Academic OneFile. Gale. Troy University (AVL).
Roby, Douglas E. (2004) “Research on School Attendance and Student Achievement: A Study of Ohio Schools.” Educational Research Quarterly : 28(1).