This study evaluates a “nudge letter” to parents intervention designed to reduce chronic absenteeism among students in one urban district. Using a regression discontinuity design (RDD), it estimates the impact of the intervention on improving student attendance. The forcing variable for the RDD was 2016–2017 attendance rate, with a “threshold” of a 0.90 attendance rate (missing 10% of days). Analyses established demographic equivalence of students in the 0.88 to 0.92 baseline attendance bandwidth. Although the overall impact of the intervention on attendance change between Fall 2016 and Fall 2017 (first-quarter attendance) was small and non-significant (ES 0.09, p = .20), the effect size for middle school students (0.34, p = .044) was “substantively important” by What Works Clearinghouse standards. The effect of the intervention on the full year’s attendance rate was not significant.

这项研究评估了一封“给家长的一封轻推信”，旨在减少一个城市地区学生的长期旷课情况。使用回归不连续性设计（RDD），它可以估算干预措施对提高学生出勤率的影响。RDD的强制变量是2016–2017年出勤率，“门槛”是0.90出勤率（缺勤10％）。分析在0.88至0.92的基线出勤带宽内已建立的人口统计学等价物。尽管该干预措施对2016年秋季至2017年秋季（第一季度出勤）出勤率变化的总体影响很小且不显着（ES 0.09，p  = .20），但中学生的影响大小为（0.34，p = .044）在What Works资料交换所标准中“具有实质性的重要性”。干预对全年出席率的影响不显着。