📝 Homeroom Dashboards: Attendance (Connect)

Attendance data is an excellent tool for determining whether students have difficulty attending school. Attendance data is reported from various perspectives.

However, discrepancies may exist between the data displayed and the attendance for which students are held accountable. One of the best ways to identify discrepancies is to have school district Skyward personnel knowledgeable about student schedules and attendance procedures in each school review the attendance of a single student in courses that tend to have attendance discrepancies. Some common examples of such courses include Running Start, zero-period, advisory courses, rotating schedules, and block schedules.

Helpful Resources: Attendance Discrepancies, Daily and Yearly Attendance Terms Glossary

Tiered Attendance

The tiered attendance views categorize students into different tiers based on their current or prior year absence rates,  which in turn determines their “Risk Value”.  

Click the tiered level to view a list of students included in this tier. Here you can view each student’s Risk Value and Configured Attendance Rate (%)

• Risk Level: Specific color-coded thresholds for each risk level (0-5%, 5-10%, 10-20%, and 20% or more absences) are determined by the school or district's system configuration.
  • Example:

• Risk Value: The risk value is a numerical value calculated based on the student’s absence rate. The numerical value is then assigned a color-coded tiered risk level:  
  • Tier 1 (Low Risk): Students with low absence rates (e.g., 5-10%). 
  • Tier 2 (At-Risk): Students with a moderate absence rate (e.g., 10-20%). 
  • Tier 3 (High Risk): Students with high absence rates (e.g., 20% or more). 
  • Example: A student with a 9% absence rate (100% - 91% = 9%) might be assigned a Risk Value of 33, placing them in an “At Risk” tier.
• Absence Rates: The absence rate is calculated by dividing the number of periods missed by the total number of periods enrolled. 
  • For example, if a student misses 30 periods out of 150 total periods over a month, their absence rate is 20%. (30/150 ) X 100 = 20% This is a significant level of absence, placing them in the category of being chronically absent. For a 180-day school year, a 20% absence rate would equate to missing 36 days of school. 

Attendance - % of Students by Attendance Threshold Views

These views show the percentage of students who meet a specific attendance threshold, typically 90%, broken down by different categories (e.g., gender, grade level, school).  The calculation employs the fractional method to determine attendance and absence rates, utilizing a “sum of effective daily attendance” approach. The data can be viewed for different timeframes (e.g., month, 30-day period) and compared against district-wide rates. Use the Chart Data Settings to change the At Above/Below Threshold and  (90) % Threshold, School Year(s) filters.

• Fractional Calculation: The fractional method counts every scheduled class period toward a student’s total attendance or absence rate.
• Attendance rates are the ratio of periods attended to the total number of periods enrolled.
• Absence rates are calculated as the ratio of periods missed to the total number of periods enrolled.
• Daily and Weekly Attendance Rate Calculation: A student’s daily attendance rate is calculated using the fractional method. This method considers the ratio of periods attended to the total number of periods a student is enrolled in for a given day. (Number of Periods Present / Number of Periods Enrolled) x 100.
  • Single Day: If a student attends 2 out of 5 scheduled periods, their daily attendance rate is 40% (2 periods attended / 5 total periods). Their absence rate is 60% (3 periods missed / 6 total periods).
  • School Week ( 5 days): If a student misses one period each day for a school week, their weekly attendance rate is 80% (20 attended periods / 25 total periods). Their absence rate is 20% (5 missed periods / 25 total periods).
  • 30-Day Period (school days, not calendar days): If a student misses 1 out of 5 periods each day for 30 consecutive school days, their 30-day attendance rate is 80% (120 attended periods / 150 total periods). Their absence rate is 20% (30 missed periods / 150 total periods)
• Average Yearly Attendance/Absence: The sum of the daily ratio in a given year of elements present/absent to the number of elements enrolled each day, divided by the number of days enrolled in that year. 

Attendance - Other Views

These metrics provide different ways to analyze and understand student attendance data.  (Current Year: 14 Day Attendance Trends. Current Year Monthly Attendance Trends, Last 30 Days % Meeting Attendance, Last 5 Days Attendance Rate by School)

• Percentage of Students: This metric shows the proportion of the student population within a specific attendance range or category. For example, “96.57% of students have an attendance rate between 95-100%”.

• Percent Meeting Attendance Threshold: This refers to the percentage of students who meet a predefined attendance goal, such as attending 95% or more of their scheduled days. This is often used as a measure of “satisfactory” attendance.
• Percentage (%): This metric typically represents the average daily attendance rate for a student or group of students, indicating the total percentage of time students were present.
• Median Presence/Absence: The median is the middle value in a set of attendance data. It’s a helpful measure because it is not skewed by extreme attendance or absence rates, providing a more representative picture of the typical student's attendance. For example, a school's median attendance might be 98..43% even if a few students have very low attendance rates.
• Goal: An attendance target goal is a specific objective for attendance, typically aiming for 90% to enhance overall school performance. These goals encourage regular attendance, linking it to improved grades, increased productivity, and greater success.

Chart Guidance

1. Start by clicking on the Behavior tab at the top of any dashboard and selecting one of the following options from its dropdown menu.
2. Use the Edit Page Data Settings next to the title name to filter which student data you want to appear.
3. In the Chart Data Settings, to the left, you can filter and adjust the chart settings.  Close the drawer to gain more viewing space.
4. Click the subpage (tab) across the top of the container to view various aggregated data. 
5. Below the chart, click any identifier to hide the identifier bar or column from the chart.
6. Click the Download Chart icon to download the chart image.
7. Hover over any pie piece, bar, or column to reveal student numbers and percentages that are included.
8. Click any tier title, pie piece, bar, or column to view a list of included students and further risk details.
9. Click the magnifying glass next to the student's name to view the Student Dashboard for more specific information.

10. To add a student to a student group, click the checkmark to the left of the student's name. 
11. Click the Selected Gear at the top of the data table and choose Add Students to Student Group.
12. Select one of the following radio buttons:

• Create New Group: Fill in the Student Group Name and click Save.
• Add to Existing Group: Click the magnifying glass, select the checkbox for the group you want to add, and click Save when you are finished.

• Homeroom Dashboards Attendance (Connect).pdf500 KB