Stay in school - everyday if possible

    In the Austin American Statesman, I came across an article about how finances for schools coincide with absences.  In the editorial section the article Stay in school - everyday if possible the author is never mentioned.  In my opinion this loses some credibility, as I have no idea if the source is biased or not.  The target audience seems to be parents of school children as well as high-schoolers.  The author uses stats to back up the argument from a source entitled E3.

  After some research I have found that E3 is a local Austin alliance (interest group) that did a study on the importance of reducing student absences in schools in relation to school funding as well as student education.  E3 stands for Education Equals Economics.  Partners in this organization include ACC, UT, and the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO).

  One part of the authors argument is based solely on information gathered by E3.  This source could be biased since it is partnered by academic schools in Austin.  The author points out that three days of absences costs the schools $34 million from state funding.  The author also points out that schools are funded based on attendance from its students, and that Pflugerville ISD saved $1 million in state funding by increasing attendance points by 0.7%.

  The other part of the authors argument is based on the impact of attendance on students in regards to education.  According to the author students who missed school more than most ended up dropping out or repeating grades, because they missed out on skills and instructions that other students have access to by showing up.  This comes as no surprise considering in order to learn one first must go to school. 

  This could be a really good article and have some movement to gain public attention.  However, it is my belief that the author could do a little more research and see if any other studies have been done by alliances not partnered by schools. The article seems biased and needs more evidence to support its claims from unbiased sources.