Almost 20% of students are now absent at least 10% of the time, according to our new research. More than that, this new era of chronic absenteeism may be in part the result of a cultural shift, meaning that current intervention strategies won’t work to get all kids back in school.
To address the new causes of chronic absenteeism, we need new strategies—which we explore at the end of this commentary.
First, the data: Our report from the American School District Panel project estimates that 19% of K-12 students nationwide were chronically absent—meaning they missed 10% or more of school days—during the 2023-2024 school year. This marks a decrease from the startling 28% observed in 2021-2022, but it’s still substantially higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 15%.
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The question, then, is why. To the superintendents in our study, it was clear: there has been a seismic shift in attitudes towards school attendance post-COVID.
“I think COVID changed … the ‘I have to go to school to learn’ mentality,” said a superintendent from a district with a 42% reported chronic absenteeism rate.
The pandemic didn’t just disrupt learning; it fundamentally altered how students and families view the role of school in their lives.
Is school still compulsory?
District leaders report implementing a wide array of strategies to get kids back in class. Our survey found that 70% of districts use early warning systems to flag students at risk of becoming chronically absent, 58% conduct home visits, and 47% have teachers make calls home. Additionally, 30% have hired dedicated staff to focus on reducing absenteeism.
Despite these efforts, nearly a quarter of districts reported that none of their interventions had been particularly effective—perhaps because they aren’t addressing “the new normal” in terms of how students and families now view school.
From our interviews with district leaders, we learned that the reasons for chronic absenteeism have fundamentally changed post-pandemic. They’ve seen a cultural shift away from viewing school attendance as truly compulsory due to, among other things, increased student mental health challenges, families that prioritize flexibility and decreased student engagement diminishing students’ drive to attend school.
As one leader put it, “If the work that you do every day is not relevant and meaningful, [students] stop showing up.”
A few solutions to chronic absenteeism
Districts need new solutions to reduce chronic absenteeism because old techniques like early warning systems and calls home simply aren’t working. Instead, here are some ideas for updated approaches:
Focus on leveraging relationships and tailoring approaches to specific student populations. Some districts have re-established the perceived importance of daily attendance through targeted, personalized communication with families about their student’s situation.
A study with the School District of Philadelphia found that telling families how many days their children missed or how their children’s attendance compared to their peers reduced total absences by 6% and the share of students who were chronically absent by 11%. Researchers report that “nudging” families helps address misconceptions they may have about their children’s absences.
Similarly, districts have been able to address student mental health challenges by increasing counseling services or social-emotional learning programs. Increased access to counseling services, through school-based teletherapy and partnerships between schools and mental health providers, has been shown to improve student attendance rates. School climate initiatives and other social-emotional learning programs may also improve attendance.
Several superintendents we spoke with were trying to increase students’ desire to come to school every day. Some were working to increase students’ sense of belonging at school by strengthening their social connections through counseling, personalized greetings and engaging group work. Experts in adolescent development suggest that efforts to increase attendance should leverage students’ drives to understand, impact and feel belonging in their communities.
To increase student engagement, other districts have experimented with making coursework more directly applicable to career skills and real-world scenarios. The District of Columbia found that students who participate in career-focused programs, like cybersecurity and nursing, are more excited to go to school and have about a 6% increase in attendance compared to students who don’t participate in career programs.
By recognizing how the reasons for chronic absenteeism have shifted over time, we can develop targeted, innovative approaches to ensure all students benefit from the irreplaceable experience of daily, in-person learning. The challenge is significant, but with new understanding comes the opportunity for meaningful change.
