The TIMMS Exam Part II (See Problem 23): For the 41 nations that participated

The TIMMS Exam Part II (See Problem 23): For the 41 nations that participated in TIMMS, the correlation between the percentage of students who skipped class at least once in the past month and the mean score on the exam was -0.52. Does this suggest there is a linear relation between attendance and achievement score? Write a sentence that explains what this result might mean.