Intervention Did Not Target at Risk Students
Measurement of significance by aggregate statistics hid the
21% (117 of 549) of students in this intervention whose
absences reached 10% at some point during the 90 days.
To say the children were at risk of academic failure was not
true of all students. ‘‘Oh,’’ a parent would say, ‘‘he’s gifted
and can easily make up whatever he missed at school. It’s ok
to miss school’’ or ‘‘I see what you are trying to do, but we’re
not one of them. We care about education.’’ Some Head
Start parents do not understand the difference between child
care and preschool. Young children learn through play, and
some parents do not perceive play as educational, believing
that missed days means only missed playtime.