2016-17 State of Education in Tennessee | Page 24

ACCESS TO CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
Efforts to better prepare students for success beyond high school depend on them being in class to receive instruction and experience all opportunities available at their schools . Data on chronic absenteeism and discipline , however , show too many students miss too much time in school . Students who are absent 10 percent of school days
( 18 days ) or more miss valuable instructional time and often struggle to stay on pace in their learning . This chronic absenteeism contributes to achievement gaps between economically disadvantaged students and their peers from higher-income backgrounds . 8 Economically disadvantaged students are three times as likely to be chronically absent , with their reduced opportunity to learn compounding other challenges in raising their achievement .
FIGURE 20 . PERCENTAGE OF THIRD-GRADERS CHRONICALLY ABSENT IN 2014-15
25 %
20 %
15 %
10 %
5 %
0 %
11 %
Economically Disadvantaged
3 %
Non-economically Disadvantaged
13 %
Students With Disabilities
7 %
Students Without Disabilities
8 %
All Third Grade
Source : Tennessee Department of Education , 2016
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