INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHANGES IN EDUCATION
Research Article
Jul 01, 2026 100 66

Unexcused Absences and Failures: Dissecting the Variability in Course Credit Policies and Freshman Course Failure

Sarah Ruth Morris 1 * ,
Sarah McKenzie 2
1 Department of Education Reform, University of Arkansas, USA2 Office for Education Policy, University of Arkansas, USA* Corresponding Author
International Journal of Changes in Education, 3(2), 2026, 125-138, https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42023078
Online publication date: Jul 22, 2024
Publication date: Jul 01, 2026
Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

This policy analysis examines the implementation of A.C.A. 6-18-222, a statewide policy in Arkansas that addresses unexcused absences and the subsequent consequences for course credit among students. Utilizing anonymized student-level data from the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years, which includes a total of 65,651 freshmen, the study investigates the variability in policy implementation across districts. It also examines the differing language used to dictate the consequences of exceeding unexcused absence thresholds. Our multivariate logistic regression models demonstrate that students eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch are notably more likely to fail a course after surpassing their district’s absence threshold. Moreover, the data reveal that upon reaching this threshold, students are significantly more likely to fail core courses as opposed to non-core courses. These findings illuminate the variations in local policy implementation and their impact on student academic outcomes, emphasizing the importance of uniform policy enforcement to ensure equitable educational opportunities.

KEYWORDS

fidelity policy implementation absences policy 9th grade year

CITATION (APA)

Morris, S. R., & McKenzie, S. (2026). Unexcused Absences and Failures: Dissecting the Variability in Course Credit Policies and Freshman Course Failure. International Journal of Changes in Education, 3(2), 125-138. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42023078
Harvard
Morris, S. R., and McKenzie, S. (2026). Unexcused Absences and Failures: Dissecting the Variability in Course Credit Policies and Freshman Course Failure. International Journal of Changes in Education, 3(2), pp. 125-138. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42023078
Vancouver
Morris SR, McKenzie S. Unexcused Absences and Failures: Dissecting the Variability in Course Credit Policies and Freshman Course Failure. International Journal of Changes in Education. 2026;3(2):125-38. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42023078
AMA
Morris SR, McKenzie S. Unexcused Absences and Failures: Dissecting the Variability in Course Credit Policies and Freshman Course Failure. International Journal of Changes in Education. 2026;3(2), 125-138. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42023078
Chicago
Morris, Sarah Ruth, and Sarah McKenzie. "Unexcused Absences and Failures: Dissecting the Variability in Course Credit Policies and Freshman Course Failure". International Journal of Changes in Education 2026 3 no. 2 (2026): 125-138. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42023078
MLA
Morris, Sarah Ruth et al. "Unexcused Absences and Failures: Dissecting the Variability in Course Credit Policies and Freshman Course Failure". International Journal of Changes in Education, vol. 3, no. 2, 2026, pp. 125-138. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42023078

REFERENCES

  1. Allensworth, E., & Easton, J. (2007). What matters for staying on-track and graduating in Chicago public schools. USA: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Retrieved from: https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/2018-10/07%20What%20Matters%20Final.pdf
  2. Morris, S. R., & McKenzie, S. C. (2024). The role of high school freshman grades, socioeconomic status, and school location. Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.32674/jsard.v9i1.6233
  3. Marshall, D. T. (2022). Course grades as actionable early warning indicators: Predicting high school graduation in an urban school district. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 66(3), 206–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2022.2028715
  4. French, M. T., Homer, J. F., Popovici, I., & Robins, P. K. (2015). What you do in high school matters: High school GPA, educational attainment, and labor market earnings as a young adult. Eastern Economic Journal, 41, 370–386. https://doi.org/10.1057/eej.2014.22
  5. Morris, S. R., & McKenzie, S. C. (2024). Stuck in the same old grades: Unchanging disparities in economically disadvantaged students’ course failures. The Educational Forum, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2024.2312299
  6. Morris, S. R., Maranto, R. A., & McKenzie, S. C. (2023). Examining teacher support for grading equity. Journal of Research in Education, 32(2), 1–42. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1412057.pdf
  7. Fixsen D. L., Naoom S. F., Blase K. A., & Friedman R. M. (2005). Implementation research: A synthesis of the literature. USA: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network.
  8. Fraser M. W., Richman J. M., Galinsky M. J., & Day S. H. (2009). Intervention research: Developing social programs. USA: Oxford University Press.
  9. Fowler F. C. (2013). Policy studies for educational leaders (4th ed.). USA: Pearson.
  10. Anagnostopoulos, D., & Rutledge, S. A. (2007). Making sense of school sanctioning policies in urban high schools. Teachers College Record, 109(5), 1261–1302. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146810710900505
  11. Anderson, K. P. (2018). Inequitable compliance: Implementation failure of a statewide student discipline reform. Peabody Journal of Education, 93(2), 244–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2018.1435052
  12. Guerra, L. A., Rajan, S., & Roberts, K. J. (2019). The implementation of mental health policies and practices in schools: An examination of school and state factors. Journal of School Health, 89(4), 328–338. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12738
  13. Hall, W. J., & Chapman, M. V. (2018). The role of school context in implementing a statewide anti-bullying policy and protecting students. Educational Policy, 32(4), 507–539. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904816637689
  14. Vecchiarelli, S., Takayanagi, S., & Neumann, C. (2006). Students’ perceptions of the impact of nutrition policies on dietary behaviors. The Journal of School Health, 76(10), 525–531. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2006.00153.x
  15. Ansari, A., & Gottfried, M. A. (2021). The grade-level and cumulative outcomes of absenteeism. Child Development, 92(4), e548–e564. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13555
  16. Attendance Works. (2023). Attendance awareness campaign. Retrieved from: https://awareness.attendanceworks.org/
  17. Anim, C., Baidoo-Anu, D., Gyamerah, K., & Agyemang-Duah, W. (2023). Do family characteristics predict student absenteeism? Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2023.2236042
  18. Garcia, E., & Weiss, E. (2018). Student absenteeism: Who misses school and how missing school matters for performance. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.epi.org/publication/student-absenteeism-who-misses-school-and-how-missing-school-matters-for-performance/
  19. Gee, K. A. (2018). Minding the gaps in absenteeism: Disparities in absenteeism by race/ethnicity, poverty and disability. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 23(1–2), 204–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2018.1428610
  20. Kearney, C. A., & Childs, J. (2023). Improving school attendance data and defining problematic and chronic school absenteeism: The next stage for educational policies and health-based practices. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 67(4), 265–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2022.2124222
  21. Jacob, B. A., & Lovett, K. (2017). Chronic absenteeism: An old problem in search of new answers. USA: Brookings.
  22. Scala, J., Husby-Slater, M., Denjongpa, M., Chamberlain, R., & McPhee, K. (2023). Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System District Implementation Guide. USA: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from: https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/23-21566_DistImplemtGuide_ed_FINAL.pdf
  23. Osher, D., & Quinn, M. M. (2003). Policies matter: For students, for teachers, and for better outcomes. Preventing School Failure, 47(2), 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/10459880309604430
  24. Cunningham, S. (2021). Causal inference: The mixtape. USA: Yale University Press.
  25. Huntington-Klein, N. (2021). The effect: An introduction to research design and causality (1st ed.). UK: Chapman and Hall. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003226055
  26. Liu, J., & Lee, M. (2022). Beyond chronic absenteeism: The dynamics and disparities of class absences in secondary school. Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Retrieved from: https://edworkingpapers.org/sites/default/files/ai22-562.pdf
  27. Childs, J., & Lofton, R. (2021). Masking attendance: How education policy distracts from the wicked problem(s) of chronic absenteeism. Educational Policy, 35(2), 213–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904820986771

LICENSE

Creative Commons License
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.