The Effects of Attendance on Student Learning

The Effects of Attendance on Student Learning
Table 1 describes a data set taken from a survey of students sampled over three semesters - spring and fall 1993 and spring 1994 - taking a Principles of Economics course at a medium-sized public college in North Carolina, United States. These data were analyzed using a linear regression model that explored the relationship between lecture attendance and student learning. The results are reported in Table 2.

Table 1: Data for testing the theory that lecture attendance affects grade

Variable Description                 Mean
grade Student course grade (%) 72.234
skip12 1 if 1 or 2 absences; 0 otherwise 0.277
skip34 1 if 3 or 4 absences; 0 otherwise 0.159
skip56 1 if 5 or 6 absences; 0 otherwise 0.162
skip78 1 if 7 or 8 absences; 0 otherwise 0.061
skip9+ 1if 9 or more absences; 0 otherwise 0.104
SATmath Pre university standardised maths test 515.647
SATverbal Pre university standardised verbal reasoning test 466.96
GPA mean Grade Point Average to date x 100 269.538
colprep 1 is high school program was college prep; 0 otherwise 0.538
HSecon 1 if had high economics, 0 otherwise 0.454
calculus 1 if have take college calculus, 0 otherwise 0.532
econ 1 if previously had a college economics course,
                  0 otherwise                                                                 0.419
hoursstudy Hours of economics studied per week 2.4
hourswork Hours worked per week in a job 7.818
credithours Hours of courses taken for credit that semester 13.081
extracurr 1 if 1 or more extracurricular activities, 0 otherwise 0.72
fratsor 1 if fraternity or sorority member, 0 otherwise 0.214
parents 0 if either parent had a high school education or less;
                        1 if either went to university;
                        2 if either gained a university degree;
                        3 if either studied at...