Dive Summary:

• More states and school districts are focusing on students who are “chronically absent” — often defined as missing at least 10% of the school year — hoping to tackle problems such as dropping out and low academic achievement.
• Chronic absence can be masked in some statistics: For example, at a school with an average daily attendance of 90%, the number of students chronically absent could be 40%.
• A study last year [PDF link] estimated that 10% to 15% of students are chronically absent, many of them from low-income households 

From the article:

... “There’s no silver bullet,” said Fred Jones, legislative associate for the Alliance for Excellent Education, a nonprofit advocacy organization based in Washington that focuses on at-risk secondary school students. The key, Jones said, is to uncover the reasons behind the absences – whether the student has to care for a sick parent, feels unsafe traveling to school, or has to work to help support the family. Only then can the school intervene effectively. ...