Tardiness

by Ashley Bishop

What is Tardiness?

Your school handbook should a include definition of what constitutes “tardy” for your school, but generally being “tardy” means coming to class more than a few minutes after the last bell has rung. Students who come late to class disrupt the learning environment for the other students, require more clerical work for the teacher and cost teaching time for everyone when a teacher must repeat information. But tardiness is more than just a disruption! More time in class has a direct effect on school achievement and performance on standardized tests. A direct correlation has also been found between chronic school tardiness and later chronic tardiness in the workforce ; so building good attendance habits now is vitally important for your students’ career success later!

Why are students late?

Don’t assume that a tardy student is a bad student! There may be reasons outside of the student’s control that cause him to be late or miss classes such as lack of transportation to school or having to care for a younger sibling. Sometimes the school itself is to blame: if you’re on a large campus the student may simply not have enough time to get from one class to another! Find out, first, what is causing the student to be tardy before jumping to conclusions. Some students are chronically tardy because they don’t see the value in school, particularly if they are already working outside of school. One teacher said of his student, “[He] couldn't believe I was holding him accountable for his tardiness. He thought high school should be like college: You go to class only if you want to.” Like violence, tardiness is also a form of rebellious behavior expected in certain social groups.

How can I prevent tardiness?

• Establish and post clear rules and consequences at the beginning of the year and then stick to them! Teens are hyper-aware of “fairness” issues and will notice if you apply rules to some students but not others. They will also quickly notice if you aren’t really keeping track of tardies! Let them know that you notice and care when they are late.
• Let parents know your rules and consequences and let them know you expect their help.
• Establish a regular habit of getting immediately to work. If students see that missing the first few minutes of class only means missing chit-chatting with their friends they won’t see the point in being on time.