Corrin, William. This report shares first-year impacts of a multi-year program from Diplomas Now, paying particular attention to attendance, behavior, and course performance outcomes of students in sixth or ninth grade. The report finds reduced chronic absenteeism in the sixth grade by an average of 17 percent, suggesting it’s possible to reduce chronic absenteeism in underserved environments in the US. The study also finds in high-poverty environments, substantial numbers of students who leave elementary school with strong academic skills become chronically absent during the first year of middle school. A two-page brief, Balfanz, Robert, Diplomas Now Early Impact Findings: New Evidence on Reducing Chronic Absenteeism, Johns Hopkins University School of Education, June 2016, further explores the multi-tiered approach and chronic absenteeism findings in the full MDRC report. (https://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/20160620_DN_MDRCReport_ChronicAbsenteeismFINAL-3.pdf)