Attendance Statistics - Definitions

Understanding Attendance Rates

For more information on policy, practice and data collection, please visit the sites below.

Student Data Privacy Guidelines for Attendance Data

Data privacy guidelines are applied to publicly reported district and school level attendance data to maintain student data privacy. The methods for student data privacy include focused N size suppression, overall total count suppression and membership base suppression. While complicated, these methods ensure student data is protected while providing transparent information regarding attendance data as much as possible. Detailed information regarding the data privacy guidelines applied to published data can be requested from the contact at the bottom of the website.

Definitions

Attendance Rate:

The Attendance rate is the Total Days Attended divided by the Total Possible Attendance Days for each student.

Truancy Rate:

Truancy is defined as an unexcused absence. The rate is calculated by dividing the reported Total Students Days Unexcused Absences by the Total Student Days Possible. 

Habitually Truant (Student Count):

A student is counted as habitually truant if the student has 4 unexcused absences in one month and/or 10 unexcused absences in one school year.

Chronically Absent Rate:

A student absent 10 percent or more of the days enrolled during the school year is chronically absent. All absences are included - unexcused and excused. The rate is the percentage of students enrolled who are chronically absent over the number of enrolled students.

Instructional Program/Service Type (IPST):

Services provided by schools and/or districts for students identified as belonging to one or more of the categories below at any point during that school year:

• Students with Disabilities: Students who have been formally identified as having physical or health conditions that may have a significant impact on the student’s ability to learn and therefore warrant placing the student on an Individual Educational Program (IEP).
• English Learners: Students who have been identified as Non-English Proficient (NEP), Limited English Proficient (LEP), or Fluent English Proficient Monitor Years 1 and 2 (FEP Monitor 1, FEP Monitor 2). Non-English Proficient is defined as a student who speaks a language other than English and does not comprehend, speak, read, or write English. Limited English Proficient is defined as a student who comprehends, speaks, reads, or writes some English, but whose predominant comprehension or speech is in a language other than English. Fluent English Proficient students in year 1 or 2 of monitor status are students who have spoken, or currently speak, a language other than English, but who can comprehend, speak, read, and write English comparable to their monolingual English-speaking peers. Districts must provide language services to all English Learners.
• Economically Disadvantaged (Free/Reduced Lunch): Student qualifies for either the free or reduced lunch program. 
• Migrant: Students enrolled in a specially designed program for children who are, or whose parent or spouse is a migratory agricultural worker, and who, in the preceding 36 months, in order to obtain, or accompany such parent or spouse in order to obtain, temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural work has moved from one school district to another.
• Homeless: According to the McKinney Act, a “homeless individual” lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
• Gifted and Talented: Students who have been formally identified, using district wide procedures aligned with CDE guidelines, as being endowed with a high degree of exceptionality or potential in mental ability, academics, creativity, or talents (visual, performing, musical arts, or leadership.

Notes

• Chronic Absenteeism Count/Rates and Habitually Truant Counts are suppressed starting in the 2023-2024 school year. 
• Distinct counts were taken for each level of data, i.e. distinct counts for the state, district and school level. Since distinct counts were taken, there is not necessarily a 1-1 ratio of summing up schools to equal a district count, or summing up district counts to equate state level.
• Total Days Attended + Total Days Excused + Total Days Unexcused = Total Days Possible for each student record. There is a 0.5 tolerance for this calculation.
• Chronic Absenteeism Rate adjusted from school year 2022-2023, forward, to not include PK students in denominator. 
• Total Number of Chronic Absenteeism students and Total Number of Habitually Truant (for each category) adjusted from school year 2022-2023, forward, to not include duplicate counts. For example, not count one student twice or more for meeting multiple criteria. 
• School level data was collected up until the 2018-2019 school year with student level data collection beginning in 2019-2020.

For additional information, email Brooke Wenzel, [email protected]