At OHS, students and staff are entering the fourth quarter, which signals the end of the school year. At the end of the school year, underclassmen and seniors exhibit chronic absenteeism and academic underperformance; this is also known and diagnosed as senioritis.
Chronic absenteeism impacts students at OHS.
The rise of abnormally high absences from students is based on complacency in their grades. Throughout the school year, underclassmen and seniors bolster their grades, which reinforces high grade point averages (GPA) and self-confidence in their grades. During the fourth quarter, students begin to become complacent in their academic performance throughout the school year due to maintaining a high GPA and self-confidence received from bolstered grades—and start missing a lot of school.
Chronic absenteeism occurs in two forms. Moreover, there are two forms of chronic absenteeism: the first form of chronic absenteeism is excessive absences from sections of the class and the second form of chronic absenteeism is consistent absences from the whole class or the school day.
This has detrimental impacts on students’ academic performance at the end of the school year by removing them from accessing class content and, correspondingly, leads to academic underperformance in-class assignments. The fundamental issue is that the slope from consistent absences to academic underperformance during the fourth quarter can lower students’ GPA and self-confidence in their academic performance; this can bar underclassmen from future opportunities and elevate substantial risks for seniors. For underclassmen and general students, constant absence from school can prevent students from being able to attend homecoming, Prom and other school events; and is substituted with in-school suspensions.
The relationship between chronic absenteeism and academic underperformance has existential impacts on seniors.
Seniors are entering their last quarter of high school and preparing to enter the workforce, trade school, or traditional post-secondary institutions. Constant absences and academic underperformance strife the senior class. This leads to seniors being in a high risk of receiving required credits for graduating high school and rescinding a student’s acceptance to trade school or a college.
Seniors inflicted by chronic absenteeism and academic underperformance can prevent or remove themselves from being impacted by high risks by receiving tutoring services from support staff and student organizations; seniors can also utilize compass days to communicate and receive help from teachers.
At the end of the school year, all students—not only seniors—should maintain a strong work ethic and the drive to commit to the prosperity of their academic future. However, students should not only maintain their academic future, but dedicate themselves to their academic future to build fundamental skills of commitment, dedication and perseverance that are essential for future occupations and adult life.
