Dive Brief:

• Positive school climate factors like safety, good relationships with peers and teachers, and parent engagement are strongly related to better school attendance — especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study released Tuesday by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.
• The study, which examined administrative records from Chicago Public Schools students in grades 6-11, also found that middle and high school students who had fewer absences showed higher test scores and GPAs both before and after the pandemic.
• While schools play a vital role in influencing student outcomes, they cannot be solely blamed for high chronic absenteeism rates nor can they provide solutions on their own, the authors said. That's because students' attendance can be affected by factors outside of the school environment. 

Dive Insight:

To help schools better understand where they can have the most impact on increasing student attendance and achievement, the study's authors said they are planning another phase of research to examine a broad range of school, neighborhood and individual factors affecting absenteeism.

The current study found that the school students attended influenced their attendance much more than the neighborhood where they lived. Additionally, students' views of feeling safe at school and safe from bullying and teasing were associated with higher rates of attendance — especially in high schools, where adjusted absence rates were about 4 percentage points lower in schools with strong safety practices after the pandemic.

Chicago Public Schools, like many districts nationally, saw chronic absenteeism rates spike after spring 2020, when the pandemic threw most schools into virtual or hybrid learning modes for at least the rest of the 2019-20 school year and even into the following school year. 

Students are considered chronically absent if they miss more than 10% of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason. The University of Chicago study said that Chicago Public Schools showed a "drastic surge" in chronic absenteeism in all grades following the pandemic. Before the pandemic, in 2017-2019, chronic absenteeism in the district's middle school grades hovered around 10%. In 2022, that rate jumped to 33%.

In CPS high schools, 27% to 37% of students were chronically absent in 2017. Five years later, the share increased to 49% to 57%. 

Nationally, chronic absenteeism reached about 31% in the 2021-22 school year and decreased to 28% in the 2022-23 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. 

As chronic absenteeism rates improved in recent years — the national rate fell to 23.5% in 2024 — schools and districts prioritized attendance through accountability measures and data-informed decision-making, as well as by boosting school climates and student and parent engagement efforts.

The University of Chicago report pointed to many different approaches for supporting student attendance, including clear communication about the importance of being at school, a welcoming environment promoted by all school staff, rigorous and engaging classroom environments, and specialized supports for students facing particularly difficult barriers.

"Improving school climate takes time and sustained effort; it’s about real, felt changes in the school, not just higher numbers on survey reports," the study said.

The university will host a free webinar to present insights from the study with Chicago and Illinois leaders on Jan. 20.