By Joylynn Lee
Staff Writer
Costa recently altered its attendance policies for the period of distance learning to comply with new state requirements and gather data on attendance in a different way than last spring.
After the completion of distance learning in the spring, the state developed a new process to record attendance called AB-77. Under AB-77, teachers can use numerical values to record how much engagement their students have with the curriculum, according to Vice Principal Stephanie Hall.
“Past years have been a lot better than this year’s attendance,” sophomore Iyanah Samoa said. “I remember that last year, the school was incredibly understanding. Although, now teachers judge your attendance through numbers.”
Under the new policy, Costa is using three distinct numbers to record attendance. To receive a 1, students must do all asynchronous work and be present for synchronous learning. This can include attending a Zoom and fulfilling the amount of participation the teacher thinks is enough. To receive a 2, students need to be completing all asynchronous assignments assigned by teachers, but don’t necessarily need to attend live class if not instructed by the teacher. Finally, to receive a 3, students must only attend class synchronously.
“The new attendance can be confusing,” freshman Callie Boren said. “My question is that there isn’t a clear consequence on what will happen if we get something lower than 1, like a 2 or a 3.”
On Wednesdays, when students have their Social Emotional Learning Classes, all other classes should be reported as asynchronous learning, meaning all students should receive a 2 on their attendance codes. Teachers will only take live attendance during their SEL periods, according to the new codes.
“I think it’s a pretty good policy and it keeps students and teachers in check, but sometimes when teachers call randomly on students they may not choose some other students,” freshman Zoe Fan said. “It can be fair at times, but when students don’t get called on, it can reflect poorly on the students’ attendance.”
Many students have concerns over whether or not the difference in teaching styles and participation requirements of various teachers could reflect poorly on students’ attendance scores. To receive a 1, students must be participating during class, but since some teachers might call on students randomly to participate, other students may not reach the standard needed to receive the necessary attendance mark.
“There can also be glitches inside the Aeries system,” junior Joah Lee said. “So, when there’s actually problems in the attendance numbers, it can be pretty difficult to get that cleared up and try to fix the error that may have happened in the software.”
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