Truanting percentages

I cannot even begin to start to initiate an item on this latest report from the BBC on truanting from schools in the UK, where they tell us there is more and more unauthorised absence from schools, particularly primary schools.

“Overall, the percentage of half day sessions missed by pupils was 6.68%: 5.89% of which was authorised and 0.79% unauthorised - the worst it has been,” their report says.

It goes on, “In secondary schools it fell, by less than 1%, from 1.23% to 1.22%…In secondary schools authorised absences also rose, although not as markedly: from 6.58% to 6.7%.”

The graph they show has a y-axis from 0.5% to 1.0% and x begins at 1997 to present day, with the fraction of a percent of half-day absences having lept from 0.7% in 1997 to almost 0.8% in 2006.

Are they serious?

It’s a story yes, but is it news?

A 0.1% rise in absences over a ten-year period? Half of those might be explained by the new digital registers schools have been forced to use that mark as absent any student late by more than 2 minutes for each half day session, even if they’re actually in school!

0.1%, that’s a rise of one in a thousand per half day. Right?

Could it be that the BBC hacks skipped stats class?

Give me some exciting stats instead. Puhleeez.