The messages to parents that reduce absence

Parents underestimate absence

One finding sits under all of this research. In a study in Philadelphia, parents of children who had missed a lot of school estimated their child had missed about nine days. The children had actually missed at least 17.8. Most parents also believed their child had missed no more school than classmates.

Parents are not ignoring absence. Often they simply do not see it adding up. A message that shows them the real number is new information.

Postcards in Philadelphia

Todd Rogers and Avi Feller sent up to five postcards to the families of more than 40,000 students at high risk of absence in Philadelphia, in 2014–15. Cards that compared a child's absences with classmates' cut total absences by 6% and chronic absence by 11%. Cards that simply stated the number of absences worked almost as well.

The cost was about $6 for each extra day of attendance. For comparison, the authors cite a mentoring programme in Chicago at about $500 a day.

Weekly texts in West Virginia

Peter Bergman and Eric Chen tested weekly text alerts to families at 22 middle and high schools, covering missed assignments as well as absences. Class attendance rose 17% and course failures fell 38%. Effects on standardised tests were small, but grades on classroom tests improved.

In study after study, the message that works is the specific one: your child's own absences, this week.

A large randomised trial

The most rigorous test so far was commissioned by the US Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. Parents of about 26,000 children in 108 primary schools across four large districts were randomly assigned to different text messages over a school year.

• In autumn, families received messages on why attendance matters, tips for getting to school, and personal alerts when their child was absent.
• Framing made no difference. Messages about the benefits of attending worked as well as messages about the consequences of missing school.
• In spring, families whose children were still often absent got more intensive messages. For children with a history of high absence, texts from school staff worked better than automated ones.

Overall, the messages reduced chronic absence by 2 to 7 percentage points, with the biggest effects for children who had been absent most. They did not improve reading or maths results.

Where the evidence stops

The Education Endowment Foundation reviewed 72 studies of attendance interventions. Its conclusion was that personalised letters and texts to parents can help, but that the wider evidence base for improving attendance is weak.

Most of these trials took place in the United States, in state schools. Whether the same effects hold in international or Indian schools has not been tested in the same way. The pattern, though, is simple and cheap enough to try and measure for yourself.