Schools lay tender trap for truants

"It's really extremely misleading," Mr. Losen says. "What appears to be improved attendance could be that a whole segment of the [student] population has been encouraged to go into a [Graduate Equivalency Diploma] program, which is a far less desirable option for them.... It's the Enron of education."

Other troubling patterns can lurk beneath the surface of apparently positive attendance rates, according to Mr. Greene. For instance, attendance figures indicate nothing about the 30 percent average dropout rate in high schools nationwide, because dropouts no longer count as absentees.

What's more, he says, districts often escalate their truancy efforts at particular times of year when they must take an overall head count. Truancy campaigns tend to make news in October, in his view, because this is "peak season" for counting.

Perhaps the biggest problem with focusing extensive outreach on truants, Greene says, is that truancy is but a symptom of educational failures dating back to early grades when a child maybe didn't learn to read.

"There is some misplaced energy to recover dropouts or rein in truants as a way of boosting graduation rates," Greene says.

The US Department of Education sharply rebuts charges of mixed incentives or unwise spending on truancy programs. The Bush administration is so committed to comprehensive solutions, says associate deputy undersecretary William Modzeleski, that the Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services departments have developed complementary plans to address truancy. Participants will learn more at the national truancy conference, scheduled for Dec. 6-8 in Washington.

"It's not about pushing the kids out or letting the kids drop out," Mr. Modzeleski says. "It's about reducing truancy.... We see this not only as a school problem but as a community problem."

On the front lines as in the research centers, all indications are that student motivation is the key to boosting attendance. Paul Robeson Academy in Detroit has averted a truancy problem in part through after-school programs that "keep kids' attention every minute," says guidance counselor Frankie James. But schools with fewer resources, she says, face an uphill challenge.

"Who can keep their interest?" Ms. James asks. "The key is always engagement."

New, not-yet-published research supports that impression. According to a study by the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University, 50 percent of truant students don't go to school because they don't want to go. Another 25 percent feel pushed out or bullied, while the remaining one-quarter report external problems, such as family issues.

The reason for optimism in these findings is that "75 percent of these are problems we can do something about," says Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins research scientist. And with financial incentives in place, school districts are getting creative to see what works.

In the Los Angeles Unified School District, for instance, state budget cuts have hurt to the tune of $500 million for the current school year, says spokeswoman Stephanie Brady. But if the district can boost average daily attendance by just 1 percent, that means another $30 million for the district. A 2 percentage point boost would be worth $60 million.

Such incentives have the district poised to spend as much as $500,000 on marketing its new "Count Me In" campaign. Using a carrot, in addition to the district attorney's stick for chronic truants, Count Me In could mean students who improve attendance might meet L.A. Clippers players or visit the set of a movie.

Districts are still trying to figure out which approaches really work - and they are expected to keep trying as long as attendance is linked to dollars.

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