VOA教育报道2023--Why Students Are Missing School, How to Fix It

Why Students Are Missing School, How to Fix It

Education officials and activists¹ are concerned about an increase in the number of American students who are absent for many days during the school year.

Education policy experts call the problem "chronic² absenteeism." Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10 percent, or about a total of 18 days, out of the school year. The 18 days do not need to be missed at one time and can be missed for any reason.

Joshua Childs is a professor of education policy at the University of Texas, Austin. He said in an interview with the American Association for the Advancement³ of Science that, on average, 7.5 to 8 million students each year are chronically⁴ absent from school in the United States. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, that number has increased to at least 10 million a year.

In Los Angeles schools, the second largest school district in the country, nearly half of students were considered chronically absent during the 2021-2022 school year. In Chicago, about 45 percent of students were chronically absent.

Following the pandemic, "chronic absenteeism reached levels never before seen in this community," Los Angeles Unified⁵ School District Superintendent⁶ Alberto Carvalho told reporters in February.

Educators say students need to attend school regularly to be successful. Childs said being absent from school hurts students both academically and socially.

"Students who are chronically absent or miss a significant amount of school are more likely to drop out and are less likely to graduate from high school," Childs said.

He added that students who miss a lot of school are less likely to feel connected with the school community and build relationships with other students and teachers.

The Education Trust is a non-profit education research organization. In a report published in March, the group said that poor students, students of color, and students who do not speak English at home are the most likely to miss a lot of school. Those students are also more likely to lack the ability to make up for the lost time.

There are many reasons why students miss a lot of school. Childs said the lung condition of asthma⁷; obesity⁸, or being extremely overweight; and dental problems are the leading physical causes. Since the pandemic, mental health problems also have increased.

There may also be community and neighborhood problems that play a part in attendance, Childs said. Certain conditions also can affect attendance. These include whether a student has safe transportation to and from school or whether the school itself is a safe environment. Childs added that if families do not feel connected with the school community or do not value education that can add to absenteeism.

The Education Trust report advised districts to deal with the underlying⁹ issues that are keeping students out of school to improve attendance. It said answers require cooperation between students, families and the community.

Traditionally, students and families have been punished for low attendance. In extreme cases, parents can be sentenced to jail if their children are absent from school too often. But punishing students and families for being absent has "not been shown to improve attendance," and can even make the problem worse, the group's report said.

In Los Angeles this year, improving attendance was a top issue for the district. The city hired workers to visit homes to find students who had been absent to get them back into school. The district also hired more attendance counselors¹⁰ to assist families in getting housing, food, or even transportation. Los Angeles schools superintendent Carvalho told the Philadelphia Inquirer in May that the district had seen a 32 percent decrease in chronic absenteeism.

The Education Trust said chronic absenteeism is a community problem that should be dealt with using community-based methods.

"Unless school leaders draw upon the knowledge of their students and families, they are unlikely to create effective solutions," the report said.

Words in This Story

absent — adj. to not attend something, such as school, that one is expected to attend

chronic — adj. something that happens all the time

district — n. an area defined by a government for a special purpose such as for school administration or for services

academic — adj. related to school, learning or teaching

significant — adj. enough to have a noticeable or important effect

hire — v. to give a job to someone; to pay someone to do a job

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

3 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

4 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

5 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

6 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

7 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

8 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册