Study: Teacher Absences Are Linked to Lower Test Scores

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The problem with teacher absences is that they are not only gone for a couple of days, but schools' are using substitutes to fill in full-time positions.

"Many times substitutes don't have the plan in front of them," Clotfelter said. "They don't have all the behavioral expectations that the regular teachers have established, so it's basically a holding pattern."

A postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington, Raegen Miller, is currently examining the impact of teacher absences on fourth-grade scores in school districts he chose to identify.

His findings include that ten teacher absences within a year dramatically affect students' test scores in math. And if a teacher is gone for two weeks, it can set the students back that amount of time in their math studies.

Test scores became an important area of study because the 2002 education law penalizes schools for low test scores. The goal for schools is to get kids reading and math levels at their grade levels by 2014.

"Teachers often have to re-teach material, restore order and rebuild relationships after absences," said Miller, who is conducting the research with Harvard University education professors.

The harm multiplies when substitutes are used for long periods of time. However, substitutes used for long periods of time have better credentials than those used to sub for a day or two.

Nationwide, school reported that the number of substitutes they used doubled between 1994 and 2004, according to Education Department data.

One reason more substitutes are used is due to a shortage of teachers in some communities. Also, schools have gotten better at reported vacancies and on school staffing due to the No Child Left Behind law.

Not only do substitutes threaten the learning of students, but many schools do not require subs to have a college degree or a background check. Therefore, the standards for subs are quite below that of a full-time teacher.

And states with the fewest standards for substitutes also rely most on subs. Principals in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., are most likely to identify teacher absenteeism as a big problem, according to Education Department survey data from 2003-04.

Substitutes have recently been asking for improvements from the schools. They wish they had better lesson plans, a better understanding of the content to be taught, and better control of the students.

"We need to pay a lot more attention to the prevalence of substitute teachers, along with long-term vacancies and turnover rates, especially in schools with a lot of low-income students who can least afford instability in their classrooms," said Ross Wiener, who oversees policy issues at Education Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for poor and minority children.