Mrs. Keegan referred to the percentage of difference between the ADM Statewide total reported as of March 1 versus the year-end actual total and acknowledged that what Mr. Schimpp said is absolutely true. She said a significant number of students drop out, which happens primarily after the 100-day count, because at that point the schools are paid and let the students go. She is not suggesting that students are kicked out on purpose, but if a student leaves before the 100 th day, the school receives less money. She said she believes it is critically important to know the count every single day. As Mr. Schimpp indicated, with student level data, DOE has a full-time attendance bank.
All students have an identification number and absences are simply an event.
SAIS is an event-driven model, so everyone is assumed to be at school unless a button is punched showing an absence. She pointed out that there are caps on absences. If an elementary school experiences more than a 6 percent absence rate, it is assumed that some catastrophic event occurred and the school is not penalized. The cap is 8 percent in high schools. She added that this is something that could possibly be reviewed as a policy matter.