RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Engaging Teachers
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 343
OP 379
DO 10.3368/jhr.56.2.1216-8430R3
VO 56
IS 2
A1 Jing Liu
A1 Susanna Loeb
YR 2021
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/56/2/343.abstract
AB On average, secondary school students in the United States are absent from school three weeks per year. For this study, we are able to link middle and high school teachers to the class-attendance of students in their classrooms and create measures of teachers’ contributions to student class-attendance. We find systematic variation in teacher effectiveness at reducing unexcused class absences. These differences across teachers are as stable as those for student achievement, but teacher effectiveness on attendance only weakly correlates with their effects on achievement. A high value-added to attendance teacher has a stronger impact on students’ likelihood of finishing high school than does a high value-added to achievement teacher. Moreover, high value-added to attendance teachers can motivate students to pursue higher academic goals. These positive effects are particularly salient for low-achieving and low-attendance students.