New York College Learning Skills Association

RTDE Issue Contents

Research and Teaching
in Developmental Education

Volume 20, Issue 2, Spring 2004

Does Improving Developmental Education Students’ Understanding of the Importance of Class Attendance Improve Students’ Attendance and Academic Performance?

By Randy Moore, General College, University of Minnesota

Abstract

The author studied how developmental education students’ attendance and grades in different sections of a large introductory science class were affected by an ongoing and quantitative emphasis on the importance of class attendance for academic success. Attendance and grades were higher in a class in which the importance of attendance was stressed than in a comparable class in which it was not, despite the fact that students received no credit for attending class. In both classes, high rates of attendance significantly increased students’ chances of earning a high grade, and low rates of attendance significantly increased students’ chances of earning a low grade. This association of high attendance and high grades is discussed relative to data about developmental education students’ expectations, attitudes, and performance