Just taking one day off from school can affect your entire life. Even though you may feel too tired to go, or you don’t feel like taking a test, putting school off gets you nowhere. According to a recent survey, approximately 63,000 kids skip school each day. Why are so many choosing not to go? Maybe it’s because they only see the positive outcomes of it. In contrast, in this paper I will explain the negative effects skipping school can have on a kid’s life.

Most people don’t like doing make-up work because it puts them behind everyone else. However, others may think it’s easier to miss any lectures or videos, and just get to the assignment. Little do those people know how much it affects their assignment and test grades. At a school in Ohio, 50 students of the same age and GPA were put into a class that none of them knew anything about. Some were told to miss around 20% of the class periods, others were permitted to miss one lecture, and the third group couldn’t miss anything. At the class final, the students who attended class every day passed by a large margin, and it went downhill from there. Think of it like this: for every day of school you skip, that’s one percent your grade can go down.

Not only can skipping school have a toll on your academics, but it can damage your personal life, too. Some activities that students take part in while they are skipping class can be deadly. Studies have shown that kids can become involved in drugs, alcohol, gangs, vandalism and more, of which none result in a positive outcome. For instance, in Florida two years ago, three high school students decided to skip the last day of school and go down to the beach. On their way, they were in a car accident and all were killed. Going through one more day of school could have saved their lives.

Skipping school determines your everyday life but has just as big of an impact on your future. Missing important lessons on school can lead to missing questions on major tests like the HSPE or SAT/ACT. Also, being involved in some of the activities I listed above while skipping school can lead to suspension, expulsion, or even jail. Going to school will keep you safer and makes your resume and future applications look much better.

In brief, skipping school has more negative than positive sides. Teachers and students should not allow anyone to miss out on school and then come back with no consequences. There should be a certain number of “sick days” that a person is allowed before suspension or possible expulsion comes into place. In my opinion, it should be school every day or no school at all. Whatever one you choose is your decision, but consider your future before you turn off the alarm clock.