Abstract
The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to examine the effectiveness of the Tier 3, Response to Intervention (RTI) intervention utilizing school social workers and school attendance hearings on school absenteeism rates and grade point average (GPA) for renewed progress toward graduation at a Midwestern high school. RTI is a systematic approach used by schools to apply an intervention to an identified deficit such as chronic absenteeism. Involved in the study were 61 students who received the Tier 3, RTI intervention during the 2013-14 school year who were control-matched with 61 students from the 2010-11 school year. Findings from the study revealed the Tier 3, RTI intervention was effective in reducing the rate of absenteeism for the experimental group. Likewise, although both the experimental and control groups’ GPA decreased over the school year, only those in the control group decreased significantly. The researcher recommends continuing the Tier 3, RTI intervention utilizing school social workers and school attendance hearings to lower rates of absenteeism and renew progress toward graduation. The researcher provides two additional recommendations: defining absences to include suspensions and making school attendance data easily accessible to staff. Implications of the study point to improvement in the rates of absenteeism among already chronically absent students.