Data Illuminates the Extent of Chronic Absenteeism
Chronic absenteeism — defined as students missing 10% or more of school —emerged as a serious challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. rate of chronic absenteeism reached about 31% in the 2021-2022 school year and decreased to 28% in the 2022-23 school year. Chronic absenteeism cannot be the new normal. The Department is using every tool in its toolbox to help schools and communities increase attendance.
Missing school means missing valuable instructional time and poses serious implications for students' overall academic success and wellbeing. Research suggests that children who are chronically absent for multiple years between preschool and second grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the third grade.
Though chronic absence derives from multiple, often interconnected factors, research points to student disengagement, lack of access to student and family supports, and student and family health challenges as significant drivers. The Department is calling on States and districts to address these factors and send a clear message that students need to be in school.
The Geography of Chronic Absenteeism
Students experience chronic absenteeism from coast to coast. 20 states reported that more than 30% of their students missed at least three weeks of school in 2022-23 (download underlying data as a spreadsheet here).
Who is Impacted?
Let's take a closer look at which groups of students were more likely to be chronically absent. Disparities in chronic absenteeism by key demographic characteristics are evident, though unacceptable levels of chronic absenteeism exist for all students (download underlying data as a spreadsheet).
Why Chronic Absenteeism Matters: What the Research Says
What is chronic absenteeism?
Chronic absenteeism is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of school days, or approximately 18 days in a year, for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Why does this matter?
Academic Outcomes: Research suggests that children who are chronically absent for multiple years between preschool and second grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the third grade. This has been shown elsewhere to make students four times more likely to not graduate from high school.
Student Connectedness: Chronic absenteeism can also further disengage students from their learning and connections with their peers and with other caring adults.
The Path Forward: Take Action through the Department's Resources
What is causing chronic absenteeism?
Chronic absence derives from multiple, often interconnected factors. research points to: student disengagement, lack of access to student and family supports, and student and family health challenges as significant drivers.
If you are a state:
- Join the Department’s Student Engagement and Attendance Center to access technical assistance and resources on multi-tiered systems of support, home visiting, and understanding root causes and strategies to address absenteeism.
- Create statewide student data systems that provide chronic absenteeism-related data for all schools that are actionable, help target interventions, and drive improvement.
- Consider how to support schools in increasing regular attendance through ESEA plans by using chronic absenteeism as a part of accountability systems.
If you are a district:
- Join the Attendance Solutions Network to access technical assistance and a peer learning community. The Attendance Solutions network is already providing no-cost technical assistance to over 200 districts across the country.
- Consider this a joint resource by the U.S. Departments of Education and Transportation highlighting ways to provide safe, reliable transit options to get young people to and from school and support everyday student attendance.
If you are a school:
- Provide parents with resources on navigating whether to send kinds to school when they are experiencing health symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and external organizations are releasing resources on how to support consistent school attendance, while also preventing spread of illness.
- The Supporting Student Attendance and Engagement Sustainability resource provides information on select federal education formula and discretionary funding that can sustain initiatives implemented under ESSER funds.
- The Strategies to Address Chronic Absenteeism resource from the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) provides States and districts with a menu of evidence-based practices to increase student attendance, including early warning systems, mentoring, and text-based “nudges” to families. More specifically, IES’s How to Text Message Parents to Reduce Chronic Absence Using an Evidence-Based Approach provides tools for districts implementing text messaging to reduce chronic absenteeism.