Chronic Absenteeism is Declining but Remains Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
Since our last update on chronic absenteeism in D.C., shared in our 2022 blog, there has been some encouraging progress. However, even with the progress we’re seeing, absenteeism continues to affect a significant portion of students, with current levels still higher than before the pandemic.
What Defines Chronic Absenteeism?
In D.C., school attendance is compulsory for students aged 5 to 18. Parents play a crucial role in ensuring their children attend school regularly, while schools are responsible for keeping accurate attendance records.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of school days within a year regardless of whether the absence is excused or not. This issue is more than just a number; it reflects the underlying challenges of excessive absences from school and its far-reaching implications for students, schools, and communities.
Students were considered "present" if they attended at least 80% of the school day. However, in 2022, the D.C. State Board of Education updated this standard, lowering the threshold to 60% of the school day. This change reflected a growing recognition of the need to address absenteeism more effectively and with more nuance. The total amount of effective instructional time received is important to track as part of every student’s journey through school.
According to data from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) 2023 DC School Report Card, middle and high school students are at a higher risk for chronic absenteeism. In the 2022-2023 school year, 37% of elementary students, 38% of middle school students, and 60% of high school students were chronically absent.
The Broad Impact of Chronic Absenteeism
Although the recent reduction in absenteeism is a positive step, significant gaps remain compared to pre-pandemic levels. This highlights an ongoing need for support systems and chronic absenteeism interventions. Multiple data metrics suggest that its impact and effect is significant and wide-reaching:
Educational Development: Beyond math and reading achievement, missing school deprives students of essential learning opportunities, impacting critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative skills. These gaps can foster a cycle of isolation and exclusion that affects future school attendance and ultimately their future academic and professional success.
Social and Emotional Growth: Frequent absences can disrupt social interactions and emotional development. Students miss out on valuable peer interactions and the stability that a school environment provides. Additionally, research suggests that students who connect with at least one trusted adult in school are more resilient and experience an improved sense of well-being. A strong sense of belonging is key to improving student interest in regular school attendance.
Students with Learning and Mental Health Challenges: For children with learning disabilities, chronic absenteeism can worsen existing difficulties. Teachers might misinterpret absences as a lack of interest or motivation, mistakenly attributing learning challenges to absenteeism rather than underlying issues.
Teacher Workload: While students bear the brunt of excessive absences from school, high rates of absenteeism also place a significant burden on teachers. Teachers face increased workloads as they must spend extra time compensating for lost instruction. This takes away time that could be spent on new material or enriching activities, impacting the entire class's learning experience.
At the Every Day Counts! Task force meeting in September 2023, it was reported that although there was a 12 percentage point improvement in chronic absenteeism from the previous year, school attendance has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. Report card data from the Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) highlights ongoing challenges:
2021-2022 School Year: OSSE reported chronic absenteeism at 48% and truancy at 42%. High-risk groups, including Black and Brown students of color, had the highest absenteeism rates, with schools serving at-risk populations showing lower attendance.
2022-2023 School Year: The D.C. School Report Card shows a slight decline in chronic absenteeism to 43.6%. However, more than half of Black students missed over 10 instructional days. Chronic absenteeism also affected over half of pre-kindergarten students, with rates exceeding 50% among economically disadvantaged students, foster children, housing-insecure students, and those with disabilities. Alternative schools reported absenteeism rates consistently above 70% across all demographics.
What’s Driving Chronic Absenteeism in D.C.?
The scale of the issue is striking: last school year, a staggering 43.6% of D.C. students were deemed chronically absent, having missed 18 or more days of class in a full school year or nine days if they were enrolled for only half the year. Leaders in D.C. and nationwide have faced a persistent challenge in encouraging regular school attendance since students transitioned back from virtual learning.
According to one recent Washington Post article, families continue to grapple with traditional issues like emergencies, illnesses, and transportation. Additionally, an emerging trend indicates a growing number of students questioning the necessity of daily school attendance.
COVID-19 initially disrupted educational routines and heightened absenteeism, but recent reports highlight additional influences shaping current attendance patterns:
Mental Health and Early Dismissal: There is an increase in mental health days, early dismissals, and lingering illness as new contributors to absenteeism. Students are increasingly staying home due to mental health challenges, reflecting a shift in how schools and families address well-being.
Violence and Safety Concerns: Heightened violence in D.C. has led to increased safety concerns. Parents are increasingly allowing children to stay home, especially following incidents of violence that occur near their school or on their route to school, to protect their safety. Students report avoiding school to escape community violence, which has become more pronounced during the pandemic. The fear of violence can deter students from attending school regularly.
Parental Caution for Illnesses: Parents are now more cautious about illnesses. Suspected infections or outbreaks at school often lead parents to keep their children home, adding another layer to the absenteeism issue.
Sense of Belonging and Success: According to a recent article from the national organization, Education Week, students who feel included and valued are more likely to attend school regularly, actively engage in their learning, and excel academically. On the other hand, students who do not feel connected or represented in their school environment are more likely to be absent, affecting their overall success and well-being.
Addressing Chronic Absenteeism: Current Strategies and New Initiatives
Earlier this year, four bills were introduced in D.C. to address chronic absenteeism and truancy. These bills aim to enhance existing strategies and introduce new solutions to improve student attendance.
Showing Up for Students Amendment Act: Defines educational neglect as 30 unexcused absences, expands valid excuses, and introduces home visits and referrals to support services.
Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy Reduction Act: Requires schools with high absenteeism to address students with five unexcused absences, designates priority areas for intervention programs, and introduces new funding for absenteeism-related needs.
Truancy Reduction Bill: Part of a broader effort addressing truancy and chronic absenteeism, focusing on family engagement and public safety.
Mayor Bowser’s Upcoming Legislation: Aimed at addressing truancy and absenteeism with potential support measures for schools, with details still being finalized.
Across D.C., efforts for chronic absenteeism interventions have spanned a range of approaches, but the effectiveness of these efforts remains mixed.
Early Warning System for Attendance: For our partner schools, EK12 provides school leaders with predictive analytics that can identify 85% of the students who will be considered chronically absent at the end of the school year as early as September. These data help schools take immediate action (suggestions below) to intervene and break patterns of non-attendance. We suggest that OSSE adopt an early warning system and share students’ historical attendance data with schools as they move just like they share test scores. This will help educators know when to act sooner.
Parent-Teacher Collaborations: Effective teacher-parent collaboration is crucial for enhancing students' academic performance and overall success. These efforts include sharing resources and support, developing personalized action plans, sharing and analyzing attendance data, regular communication, and more. When teachers and caregivers work together, children are more likely to attend school regularly and perform better academically.
Rewards and Incentives: Some schools offer incentives, such as pizza parties, to encourage attendance. Staff members also make wake-up calls to help students get to school on time. During EK12’s Attendance Data and Bright Spots conversation, held in 2022, partner LEAs discussed a variety of creative solutions. One partner noted that they have an Amazon account for rewarding students with good attendance, while another shared that school leaders have offered to dye their hair or eat a hot pepper as attendance incentives.
Expanded Outreach: In 2023, D.C. officials expanded their relationship with a program that sends automated texts and emails to families struggling with attendance. Last year, this initiative improved attendance for 48% of 51,075 participating students citywide, though only 11% fully overcame chronic absenteeism.
Data in Action: A Closer Look at Dashboard Metrics for Measuring Chronic Absenteeism
Effective education research involves more than just numbers—it requires translating data into actionable insights. This approach ensures strategies are grounded in high-quality research, providing frameworks for improvement and confirming what works.
When looking at chronic absenteeism, EK12’s systems have the ability to track numerous aspects of attendance, allowing us to paint a more holistic picture of any emerging trends as well as positive strides being made.
For our direct school partners, we develop interactive dashboards that clearly communicate the most important metrics and allow LEAs to dig deeper by using filters, sorting, and drill-down capabilities.
Some examples of data provided by our dashboard include:
Cumulative LEA attendance weekly, monthly, and for the entirety of the school year
Individual student attendance, including their risk factor for chronic absenteeism
Equitable student attendance by subgroup - including IEP status, gender, and racial identity
A color-coded calendar view for visualizing days when attendance rates were high vs. low
A similar approach also informs EK12’s work at the citywide level. Since 2022, EK12, in collaboration with Education Forward DC, has been at the forefront of addressing chronic absenteeism in Washington, D.C. utilizing the DC Education Recovery Dashboard to monitor and enhance the health of the District’s education system as it recovers from the pandemic. This tool provides a comprehensive view of student engagement and system performance across various metrics, including citywide, by student subgroup, and by ward.
In addition to data regarding PARCC Achievement, PK3-12 enrollment, teacher retention, leader retention, four-year high school graduation rates, and more, the D.C. Education Recovery Dashboard tracks and analyzes current chronic absenteeism rates.
By comparing the data to pre-pandemic levels, EK12’s data shows whether or not the numbers are regressing, improving, or on track. It also enables analysis of historical trends and allows for a detailed view of attendance by school or student subgroup.
Utilizing the data available to us, the EK12 team has been piloting a chronic absenteeism predictor with many of our school partners. Year-over-year comparisons highlight progress or areas needing improvement and this data is used to train schools on regular analysis for enhancing student attendance and early intervention.
