Schools have a 77% chance of reducing chronic absenteeism when using effective approaches, such as implementing early warning systems to analyze attendance and sharing attendance data with parents, according to a report released Monday by the HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice at the University of Oregon.
Students exposed to any attendance intervention were about 9% less likely to be chronically absent compared to those who attended schools that did not have any attendance interventions, the report said.
The report is based on a meta-analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago. Those researchers looked at 49 studies of interventions of chronic absenteeism in K-12 schools published between 2016 and August 2025, according to the HEDCO Institute.
Chronic absenteeism is typically defined as missing 10% of the school year — or about 18 days — for any reason including excused absences. Schools across the country saw chronic absenteeism climb in the years following the 2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, research from the American Enterprise Institute found that in 2019, the chronic absenteeism rate was 15%, but increased to a peak of 29% by 2022. More recently, rates have declined and in 2024, the rate dipped to 24%.
National chronic absenteeism rates are slowly declining
Still, with about 1 in 4 students chronically absent, educators are eager for best-practice approaches. High rates of chronic absenteeism can make the pacing of instruction more difficult for teachers. Administrators have to devote staff time and resources to monitoring attendance and implementing interventions.
“Since the pandemic, chronic absenteeism continues to plague our districts,” said Mark Mulvihill, superintendent of the InterMountain Education Service District in Pendleton, Oregon, in a Monday statement announcing the HEDCO Institute report.
“In particular, poor student attendance in the primary grades is a growing concern," Mulvihill said. "If students do not attend school regularly, they significantly decrease their odds for future success.”
Here are the five promising practices highlighted in the report:
- Make curriculum and instructional changes to increase engagement. This could include using culturally relevant teaching methods and adding music into lessons.
- Encourage relationships by initiating mentorship opportunities between adults and students, or between older students and younger students.
- Strengthen family-school connections through activities that will engage parents, such as home visits or parenting support services.
- Inform parents about their child's attendance record through "nudges" or short messages. Students whose parents received attendance messaging were 18% less likely to be chronically absent.
- Adopt a whole-school approach for attendance improvements. This could include improving school climate, increasing student engagement, analyzing attendance data, addressing behavior and academic achievement, and identifying students who are at risk of failing or dropping out.
Students exposed to whole school approaches were 12% less likely to be chronically absent.
