Balfanz, Robert and Vaughn Byrnes. Everyone Graduates Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Education, November 2013. This report examines the impact of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s task force on truancy, chronic absenteeism and school engagement, a program that spanned 2010 to 2013 and reached more than 60,000 students in NYC public schools. The study found that students who missed at least 20 days of school per year — the definition of chronic absenteeism — had lower grades and were more likely to drop out than students with better attendance. Yet, the researchers also found these effects of absenteeism are reversible with the help of mentors, incentive programs, and awareness campaigns. Additional information can be found in the report’s technical appendix (https://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NYC-Chronic-Absenteeism-Technical-Appendix-Nov-2013.pdf)