How does child attendance vary by characteristics of the child, family, program, and community?

Early attendance can impact student learning in later grades and prevent loss of instructional time[1]. Answering this question can help identify attendance patterns for children with different characteristics and target efforts to improve attendance. To answer this question, identify enrolled children’s personal, family and community characteristics along with their attendance data from the CCEE programs they attend. Differences in attendance patterns for children enrolled in CCEE programs with varying characteristics may also be of interest and may be identified by linking child and family level information to site level information.

[1] Attendance Works. Why Attendance Matters in Early Childhood. September 2017.

Identify the Number of Days Each Child Was in Attendance

A variety of factors may be correlated with a child’s attendance in their CCEE program. Attendance is recorded in the Child Level data element Number of Days in Attendance.

Identify Child Characteristics of Interest

A full list of data elements that could be used to describe the characteristics of children under 12 in the state can be found in the Child Level set of data elements in this document. Attendance data can be linked to the Family Level and Site Level data elements using the Family ID and Site ID. If community variables are of interest, Child Level data can be filtered by geographies of interest using Child Address and compared to community characteristics using US Census and ACS data, such as community poverty at the county level.

Analyze Child Attendance Patterns by Child Characteristics of Interest

Example 1. Is there a difference in average days in attendance between children who reside in rural areas compared to those that reside in urban areas?  To identify whether the child resides in a rural or urban area, the “City” field name from the Child’s Address data element can be used in conjunction with information from the US Census or American Community Survey (ACS). The Census provides an urban classification to areas that meet population or housing density criteria. Areas that have a population of at least 5,000 people (or 2,000 housing units) are classified as urban. Rural areas are defined as those that are not urban (populations less than 5,000 people or areas with less than 2000 housing units)[1]. Population size data for all cities, towns, and census designated places (unincorporated areas) are available by state. Obtain population size data from the US Census or most recent ACS and designate each city, town, and census designated place with an urban or rural designation based on the population for each. The Number of Days in Attendance data element can then be used to determine the number of days a child was present when an early learning program was in session. The total Number of Days in Attendance for children can be averaged for urban and rural areas. The two averages can be compared to each other to identify any differences in attendance.

Alternatively, attendance can be further categorized to identify children who are chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more school days during the school or program year.[2]  Each child can be linked to their corresponding early learning program using the Child ID and Site ID data elements. First, determine the total number of days an early learning program is in session by multiplying the numerical value for the Days Available Per Week data element by the numerical value of the Weeks Available Per Year data element. Once the total number of days an early learning program is in session has been calculated, multiply that value by 0.1. Subtract the numerical value for the Number of Days in Attendance data element from the calculated total days a program is in session to determine the number of days absent per child; a positive value would indicate not chronically absent, and a negative value would indicate chronically absent. Assign a chronically absent designation (e.g., “1” for chronically absent and “0” for not chronically absent) for children whose days absent are ten percent or greater of the total days a program is in session. The total number of chronically absent children can then be summed and disaggregated by urban or rural residence.

Example 2. Do programs that provide any opportunity for parents to be involved see a higher average attendance than programs that do not? The data element Program Provides Parent Involvement Opportunities is listed in the Site Level data elements section of the data dictionary in this document. The related fields in the Program Provides Parent Involvement Opportunities data element describe the different ways in which a program can allow a parent to be involved in their child’s activities or kept informed about the program at large (e.g., Parent Feedback, Parent Conferences). Each program can be coded to indicate if the program provides at least one opportunity for parental involvement. Assign programs that provide any opportunities for parent involvement a numeric value of “1” and those that do not a numeric value of “0”. Child Level data can be linked to Site Level data using Child ID and Site ID. Disaggregate data by this calculated parental involvement variable and average the values in the Number of Days in Attendance data element to answer this question.

[1] US Census Bureau. 2020 Census Urban Areas FAQ. Updated December 2022. 

[2] US Department of Education, US Department of Health and Human Services, US Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2015). Every Student Every Day. A Community Toolkit to Address and Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism.