[dibstern]

I am highly skeptical of the research that shows low attendance causes poor grades. I attended 2/24 lectures for one subject, and I got the highest grade for the year, out of both semesters. And I have friends who don’t attend lectures often and do similar.

We focus on assignments - programming & software engineering assignments eat far too much time to get top marks and still attend classes. When I finish assignments, I binge watch lectures and write notes like a madman.

But yeah, I really doubt the attendance studies.

[topkai22]

It sounded like questionable methodology- students had access to notes and slides, but it noticeable didn’t mention videos. Professors can communicate what they consider relatively important (and therefore what’s likely on the test/evaluation criteria) verbally and non-verbally during lecture, which can be captured by decent videography. If the non attending section didn’t get the video they were not given full course information.

That being said, as others have pointed out attendance likely increases skin in the game and results in more work in general. Another improvement across the general population is the social aspect of class, forming study groups or informal support structures, as well as increased attachment to material by being part of a group in general.

While as professional I much prefer MOOCs (even if I don’t finish them) I don’t think I would have gotten through my college curriculum without that social context. Just too many distractions. In fact, the most common reason for people failing out of my program was over use of video games and other media (drug and alcohol abuse got you placed into a rehab cycle with possibility of return). Being wanting to keep up with my known peers definitely motivated me to work more and consume material better

[red_admiral]

It is definitely possible to lecture in such a way that students gain no benefit from turning up. The classic way to do this is just click your way through a powerpoint, reading out the slides as you go along.

That doesn't disprove the claim that it's possible to lecture in a way that students do benefit from turning up.

[jessewmc]

This is classic anecdotal thinking. Your statement is equivalent to someone who has smoked a pack a day for 40 years saying they don't think cigarettes cause lung cancer because they don't have lung cancer.

Not that this particular study is necessarily convincing -- but your anecdote has no value in determining if it is or isn't.

[tomtheelder]

I recognize that this is just anecdote v. anecdote, but from TA-ing a number of college courses I have found the correlation between attendance and grades to be extremely strong. There are undoubtedly exceptions such as yourself and your friends- interestingly I myself was such an exception as an undergrad- but in general students with better attendance seem to get better grades.

_That said_, I suspect that this effect is almost entirely attributable to lurking variables such as discipline and interest. A lot of students with poor attendance are either students with poor work habits, or ones don't care about the course. Both of those tend to produce poor grades. The study cited addressed study habits, and maybe touched on interest a little, but It's hard for me to say exactly how well they adjusted for those since it's paywalled.