School Absenteeism
and Children’s Health
North Carolina 2007– 2009
† CI = 95 percent confidence interval; explanation for how to interpret CIs is available at www. schs. state. nc. us/ SCHS/ champ/ interpreting. html.
School Absenteeism
Parents of students enrolled in public and private schools in North Carolina were asked to report how many school days their child had missed within the past year due to an illness or injury. Twenty- six percent of parents reported that their child did not miss any days of school due to illness or injury; 49 percent reported that their child missed one to four days of school ( less than one week); 16 percent reported that their child missed five to nine days of school ( one to two weeks); and 9 percent reported that their child missed 10 or more days of school ( two or more weeks). The number of school days missed due to illness or injury did not vary by grade level. On average, 9 percent of elementary school, middle school, and high school students were absent from school for two or more weeks within the past year due to an illness or injury.
School Achievement
Describing their child’s grades over the past 12 months, 54 percent of parents reported that their child made mostly A’s, 30 percent reported that their child made mostly B’s, 13 percent reported that their child made mostly C’s, and 3 percent reported that their child made mostly D’s or F’s. Student school achievement varied by school attendance. Students who missed two or more weeks of school due to illness or injury were more likely to make mostly C’s, D’s or F’s compared to students who missed less than two weeks of school ( 27% [ CI 21– 33]† vs. 15% [ CI 14– 16]).
March 2011
Never Absent26% Absent One to TwoWeeks16% Absent Less thanOne Week49% Parental Report of Number of School DaysChild Missed Due to Illness or InjuryAbsent Two or More Weeks9% Parental Report of Child’s Grades in School by Number of School Days Missed Due to Illness or Injury56% 56% 50% 40% 28% 30% 31% 33% 12% 12% 15% 21% 3% 2% 4% 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Never AbsentAbsent LessThan One WeekAbsent One to Two WeeksAbsent Twoor More WeeksMostly A'sMostly B'sMostly C'sMostly D's or F's
Health Status
Children’s health status varied by school attendance. Students who were absent two or more weeks due to illness or injury were more likely than students who were absent less than two weeks to be rated as in fair or poor general health ( 12% [ CI 8– 16] vs. 3% [ CI 2– 4]) as well as having fair or poor dental health ( 12% [ CI 8– 17] vs. 7% [ CI 5– 8]). Students absent two or more weeks were also more like to have been told by a doctor that they have asthma ( 21% [ CI 17– 26] vs. 9% [ CI 8– 10]) and require more medical care, mental health, or educational services than their peers due to a chronic medical, behavioral, or other health condition ( i. e., Special Health Care Needs ( SHCN); 31% [ CI 26– 36] vs. 9% [ CI 8– 10]). Students ( ages 10– 17 years) absent more than two weeks due to illness or injury were somewhat more likely to be overweight or obese compared to students absent less than two weeks ( 40% [ CI 33– 47] vs. 33% [ CI 31– 35]).
Children’s Health Status by Number of School Days Missed Due to Illness or Injury3% 7% 9% 9% 33% 12% 12% 21% 31% 40% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Fair/ PoorHealthFair/ PoorDental HealthAsthma( Current) SHCNOverweight/ ObeseAbsent < 2 weeksAbsent 2+ weeks