Dashboard Data Reveals Chronic Absenteeism Impact on Student Performance
April 29, 2025 | 2025 Legislative Meetings, South Carolina
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The Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs Committee of the South Carolina Legislature convened on April 29, 2025, at 10:00 am to discuss various topics related to education and student performance metrics.
The meeting began with a presentation on the newly developed dashboards aimed at enhancing educational transparency and accountability. The speaker highlighted three key dashboards: the Pre-K dashboard, which evaluates early childhood education outcomes; the K-12 dashboard, which provides insights into school performance; and the Post-Grad dashboard, which utilizes national student clearinghouse data to track high school graduates' transitions to post-secondary education.
The K-12 dashboard, in particular, garnered interest from the General Assembly in the previous year. It allows users to analyze data by specific high schools, including graduation rates, post-secondary enrollment, and student persistence into their sophomore year. The speaker emphasized the importance of these metrics in understanding educational outcomes and the effectiveness of funding allocations.
A significant concern raised during the meeting was chronic absenteeism among students. The speaker reported that in the 2022-2023 school year, 23 percent of students were classified as chronically absent, meaning they missed at least 10 percent of the school year. This absenteeism is believed to have a detrimental impact on academic performance, prompting a call for further discussion on strategies to address this issue.
The meeting concluded with an invitation for committee members to explore the dashboards further and consider the implications of chronic absenteeism on educational success. The discussions underscored the ongoing efforts to improve educational outcomes in South Carolina through data-driven insights and targeted interventions.
The meeting began with a presentation on the newly developed dashboards aimed at enhancing educational transparency and accountability. The speaker highlighted three key dashboards: the Pre-K dashboard, which evaluates early childhood education outcomes; the K-12 dashboard, which provides insights into school performance; and the Post-Grad dashboard, which utilizes national student clearinghouse data to track high school graduates' transitions to post-secondary education.
The K-12 dashboard, in particular, garnered interest from the General Assembly in the previous year. It allows users to analyze data by specific high schools, including graduation rates, post-secondary enrollment, and student persistence into their sophomore year. The speaker emphasized the importance of these metrics in understanding educational outcomes and the effectiveness of funding allocations.
A significant concern raised during the meeting was chronic absenteeism among students. The speaker reported that in the 2022-2023 school year, 23 percent of students were classified as chronically absent, meaning they missed at least 10 percent of the school year. This absenteeism is believed to have a detrimental impact on academic performance, prompting a call for further discussion on strategies to address this issue.
The meeting concluded with an invitation for committee members to explore the dashboards further and consider the implications of chronic absenteeism on educational success. The discussions underscored the ongoing efforts to improve educational outcomes in South Carolina through data-driven insights and targeted interventions.
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