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Home visits for attendance

Pre-K to 12 Education
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated October 2025.
Home visits are intended to strengthen the relationship between K-12 teachers and families, to improve communication, and ultimately attendance. Home visits are conducted outside of school hours by teachers and sometimes other school personnel, usually in pairs. In the studies represented in this meta, some home visits targeted students who were chronically absent and some were with the general student body. Typically, families receive one visit before or during the school year. Home visits are usually conducted in the student’s home but may be held virtually or in community spaces.
 
ALL
BENEFIT-COST
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS
For an overview of WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Model, please see this guide. The estimates shown are present value, life cycle benefits and costs. All dollars are expressed in the base year chosen for this analysis (2023).  The chance the benefits exceed the costs are derived from a Monte Carlo risk analysis. The details on this, as well as the economic discount rates and other relevant parameters are described in our Technical Documentation.
Benefit-Cost Summary Statistics Per Participant
Benefits to:
Taxpayers $1,221 Benefits minus costs $5,502
Participants $2,877 Benefit to cost ratio $73.65
Others $1,517 Chance the program will produce
Indirect ($38) benefits greater than the costs 63%
Total benefits $5,577
Net program cost ($76)
Benefits minus cost $5,502

^WSIPP’s benefit-cost model does not monetize this outcome.

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured Treatment age No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) used in the benefit-cost analysis Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
First time ES is estimated Second time ES is estimated
ES SE Age ES SE Age ES p-value
Test scores
Standardized, validated tests of academic achievement.
12 2 1024 0.030 0.059 12 0.023 0.065 17 0.030 0.618
Office discipline referrals^
Referrals of a student to an administrative office for disciplinary reasons.
12 2 2345 -0.009 0.131 12 n/a n/a n/a -0.009 0.947
School attendance
Number or percentage of school days present in a given enrollment period.
 12 2 34628 0.104 0.011 12 0.104 0.011 12 0.104 0.001
Chronic absenteeism^
Missing 10% or more of school days in a typical 180-day academic year.
 12 1 361 -0.016 0.142 12 n/a n/a n/a -0.016 0.908
1In addition to the outcomes measured in the meta-analysis table, WSIPP measures benefits and costs estimated from other outcomes associated with those reported in the evaluation literature. For example, empirical research demonstrates that high school graduation leads to reduced crime. These associated measures provide a more complete picture of the detailed costs and benefits of the program.

2“Others” includes benefits to people other than taxpayers and participants. Depending on the program, it could include reductions in crime victimization, the economic benefits from a more educated workforce, and the benefits from employer-paid health insurance.

3“Indirect benefits” includes estimates of the net changes in the value of a statistical life and net changes in the deadweight costs of taxation.
Detailed Monetary Benefit Estimates Per Participant
Affected outcome: Resulting benefits:1 Benefits accrue to:
Taxpayers Participants Others2 Indirect3 Total
Test scores Labor market earnings associated with test scores $1,221 $2,877 $1,517 $0 $5,615
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 ($38) ($38)
Totals $1,221 $2,877 $1,517 ($38) $5,577
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Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $73 2022 Present value of net program costs (in 2023 dollars) ($76)
Comparison costs $0 2022 Cost range (+ or -) 30%
Home visit costs consist of the compensation provided to teachers or school personnel to conduct home visits. We use the estimate in McKie et al. (2022) of $34 per teacher and assume home visits are conducted in pairs. We adjust costs to Washington using teacher salary data from the National Education Association.
The figures shown are estimates of the costs to implement programs in Washington. The comparison group costs reflect either no treatment or treatment as usual, depending on how effect sizes were calculated in the meta-analysis. The cost range reported above reflects potential variation or uncertainty in the cost estimate; more detail can be found in our Technical Documentation.
Benefits Minus Costs
Benefits by Perspective
Taxpayer Benefits by Source of Value
Benefits Minus Costs Over Time (Cumulative Discounted Dollars)
The graph above illustrates the estimated cumulative net benefits per-participant for the first fifty years beyond the initial investment in the program. We present these cash flows in discounted dollars. If the dollars are negative (bars below $0 line), the cumulative benefits do not outweigh the cost of the program up to that point in time. The program breaks even when the dollars reach $0. At this point, the total benefits to participants, taxpayers, and others, are equal to the cost of the program. If the dollars are above $0, the benefits of the program exceed the initial investment.

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

McKie, A., Terziev, J., & Gill, B. (2021). Impacts of home visits on students in District of Columbia Public Schools (REL 2022–128; ED615918). Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic.

Scher, L., & Lauver, S. (2021). Examining the effects of HOME WORKS! The Teacher Home Visit Program on student academic outcomes. School Community Journal, 31(2), 99–130.

Stemler, S.E., Werblow, J., Brunner, E.J., Amado, A., Hussey, O., Ross, S., Gillotti, J., Hammond, S., Jiang, S., Pereira, A., White, S., & Pruscino, I. (2022). An evaluation of the effectiveness of home visits for re-engaging students who were chronically absent in the era of COVID-19. Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration.