One day of school makes all the difference, after all. Just ask the kids who were required to take their semester tests this year. Some were only one day over the limit of two days that students are allowed to miss without having to take their semesters. The opponents of this part of the attendance policy sometimes say the policy is unfair, or that it is harmful to students because it deprives them of the valuable experience of test taking. But the policy is fair enough — just miss two or fewer days of school per semester, behave yourself and arrive to class on time, and you won’t have to take the tests. School sponsored absences don’t count against the total, and in the case of extenuating circumstances — like a death in the family — students can miss more than two days of school. The most important fact, though, is that the semester test policy is effective. Attendance has improved substantially since the policy was instated. During the 1995-1996 school year, FHS dropped the semester test policy and required all students to take the test. Last year, the 1996-1997 school year, they reinstated it. Official attendance figures for 1995-1996 showed a 7.53 percent absent rate for the first quarter, meaning nearly eight percent of the school was absent during a given period. In 1996-1997, the figure was 5.19 percent, or a 31.1 percent improvement. The trend has continued. On average, 35.1 percent fewer students are absent with the current attendance policy in effect. Math teacher Karen Longhart reported an even greater difference between the two school years. She tallied a 3.6 percent absentee rate in her classes last year, and a 12 percent rate two years ago. Although this was a sample of only one teacher’s classes, the results might be even more accurate than the official totals for 1995-1996. Teachers that year were asked to turn in their attendance reports, instead of having them collected, and many weren’t always diligent in doing so. This would have made it seem like there were more students in school than actually were there on a given day. Students who can be excused from taking the tests don’t necessarily miss out on a valuable experience, either. If a student wants to take semester tests as preparation for college tests or to raise his or her grade, the student is welcome to. Many college bound students — the group that benefits most from taking their finals — also have the opportunity to experience comprehensive tests in other places: the SATs or ACTs, AP tests, or even as part of the curriculum in their regular classes. Further, the negative impact of missing semesters is outweighed by the positive impact of being in school almost every day. Without the incentive, many students have little reason not to miss close to the maximum number of days each semester. Why come to school if you can get the same credit for a class whether you miss two days or 10? In short, give students a reason to come to school, and attendance will remain high. When something works well — like this policy — there is no reason to “fix” it. |
