Effects of Feedback on Absenteeism in the Junior High School

This study assessed the effects of a special feedback program in reducing absenteeism among adolescent junior high school students" Parents of students in the experimental group received followup calls in cases of student absences on a more immediate basis than parents of other absentees. These parents also received positive phone calls and letters when their children improved in attendance. Two comparison groups received no positive feedback, but one was involved in a special social skills training program. Both an analysis of covariance, using absences the prior year as the covariate, and chi square analyses indicated significant differences between the groups. Both the experimental group and social skills group showed significant improvement in relation to the no-treatment control group.