Dive Brief:
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About one-quarter (23%) of school districts surveyed said none of the strategies they put in place to combat chronic absenteeism have been particularly effective, according to an analysis of data published Tuesday by Rand Corporation and the Center on Reinventing Public Education.
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One explanation, according to researchers' interviews with district leaders, is a cultural shift occurring since COVID-19-related school building closures, in which students and families view school attendance as optional and less important.
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Several district administrators said new approaches for school engagement, such as group projects and appealing lessons, would contribute to increased school attendance.
Dive Insight:
Educators at the school, district, state and federal levels have implemented interventions and emphasized the monitoring of student attendance amid alarming rates of chronic absenteeism reported after school buildings reopened. Chronic absenteeism, generally, is defined as the percentage of students missing at least 10% of the school year, or about 18 days.
The Rand and CRPE analysis found that about 1 in 10 districts had chronic absenteeism levels of 30% or more during the 2023-24 school year. Two in 10 districts reported 20% to 30% chronic absenteeism rates.
The survey, mirroring other state and local data, shows student attendance is improving compared to peaks of chronic absenteeism in previous years. Nationally, chronic absenteeism was at 15% in 2018 but jumped to 28% in 2022, according to the Return 2 Learn Tracker from the American Enterprise Institute.
During the 2023-24 school year, an estimated 19% — or about 9.4 million students — were chronically absent, according to Rand and CRPE.
AEI, Education Trust and Attendance Works are challenging school systems to decrease chronic absenteeism rates by 50% over the next 5 years. During a July gathering, the organizations said low attendance negatively impacts student learning, teacher retention, school culture and postsecondary preparedness.
Nearly all school districts surveyed (93%) for the Rand and CRPE analysis said they used at least one approach to combat chronic absenteeism last school year, with schools most commonly using an early warning system to flag students at risk of being chronically absent. Home visits and teacher calls to a student's home after a set number of absences were other top common practices.
The districts reported varying degrees of success with each intervention, leading researchers to theorize that either no method was particularly effective or that the effectiveness of any one approach was contingent on the context of other methods.
"Nevertheless, the low proportion of districts that identified one of their own approaches as the most effective at reducing absences indicates that absences are a stubborn problem that is not easily solved by any one intervention alone," the report said.
Members of the American School District Panel participated in the survey and interviews. The ASDP is a research partnership between Rand and CRPE. There were 190 districts that completed the survey, and 12 district leaders were interviewed.
Rand and CRPE recommended the following approaches suggested by district leaders and researchers:
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Improve strategies for a post-pandemic context. Schools can use their existing interventions but should be monitoring their effectiveness and impact on certain student populations. Districts should also use new approaches for increasing school engagement and relationships.
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Stress to families the importance of school attendance. Schools should communicate to students and families the importance of attendance for students' long-term success. Individualized messaging to a family about their child's attendance and the correlation with academic progress can be effective.
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Make students feel welcomed and connected. Schools — through counselors, personalized greetings, social and emotional instruction, or engaging group work — can build students' desire to attend school regularly. Educators should also ensure that students are connected to at least one adult in the building who can emphasize how much that student matters to the school community.
