Fifteen Effective Strategies for Improving Student Attendance and Truancy Prevention

Just as there is no one answer to dropout prevention, improving attendance and reducing truancy requires a multimodal program. Although each of the 15 effective strategies for increasing the graduation rate can stand alone, an effective program will use several, if not all of the strategies. Several best practices to improve attendance and reduce truancy have been identified: collaboration, use of incentives and sanctions, family involvement, establishment of a supportive context, and assessment and evaluation of the program. Effective programs will exhibit the elements of best practices and the 15 effective strategies. The collection of resources provided may help improve existing programs, or facilitate the establishment of new programs to improve student attendance and reduce truancy.(authors)