Class attendance, peer similarity, and academic performance in a large field study
Valentin Kassarnig1, Andreas Bjerre-Nielsen2,3, Enys Mones4
1Institute of Software Technology, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria.
Plos One
|November 9, 2017
Summary
Accurate class attendance tracking using smartphone sensors reveals early and consistent attendance strongly predicts academic success. Peer attendance also significantly correlates, suggesting social influence on student performance.
Area of Science:
- Educational research
- Computer science applications in education
- Behavioral science
Background:
- Academic performance is a key research area.
- Class attendance is a known predictor of academic achievement.
- Previous attendance studies rely on biased self-reporting methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel method for measuring class attendance using smartphone sensor data.
- To overcome limitations of traditional self-report attendance methods.
- To analyze the relationship between attendance and academic performance in undergraduate students.
Main Methods:
- Utilized location and Bluetooth data from smartphone sensors to measure class attendance.
- Collected attendance data from nearly 1,000 undergraduate students.
- Correlated measured attendance data with academic performance metrics.
Main Results:
- Early and consistent class attendance shows a strong correlation with academic performance.
- Student attendance was substantially correlated with the attendance of their social peers (correlation > 0.5).
- The findings suggest a potential peer effect or homophily in class attendance.
Conclusions:
- Smartphone sensor data provides a reliable and unbiased method for measuring class attendance.
- Consistent class attendance is a critical factor for academic success.
- Social influence and peer behavior play a significant role in student attendance patterns.
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