According to the US Department of Education, more than 8 million students are chronically absent each year. To give that figure context at the state level, the chronic absenteeism rate in Indiana in the 2021–2022 school year hit a post-pandemic high of 21.1 percent—more than one in five students. Before the pandemic, the rate in Indiana was 10.6 percent.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing ten percent or more of school days in a year, including both excused and unexcused absences. This widespread issue affects students of every background across urban, suburban, and rural communities.
The consequences are well-documented and far-reaching. Chronic absenteeism contributes to lower academic performance and graduation rates, increased risk of dropping out, general lack of foundational knowledge and skills, developmental issues, and social isolation. This has a negative impact on students in the classroom today, as well as their college and career readiness in the future. It can also disrupt learning for educators and other students.
A major problem with chronic absenteeism is the lack of awareness, from parents to policymakers, because attendance data isn’t adequately analyzed, reported, and acted upon to drive change. The good news is that schools already have much of the data they need to solve the problem. They just need support to make good use of it.
Historically, state education agencies needed to manually comb through data or rely on teachers and principals to solve the problem alone. Today, Resultant can help these agencies implement systems that empower educators to identify students in need of intervention, intervene early, and better understand the root causes of chronic absenteeism. These systems can also help all involved—from families to policymakers—analyze and measure how schools respond.
Causes of Chronic Absenteeism and a Shift in Response
Many factors contribute to chronic absenteeism by making it more difficult for students to attend school or causing students to avoid school. Root causes include:
- Socioeconomic barriers: Family responsibilities, lack of transportation, financial hardship
- Mental health disorders: Anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Negative school climate: Bullying, lack of engagement with peers and adults, distrust of schools in marginalized communities
Historically, the response to chronic absenteeism has been punitive for both students and parents, which was counterproductive. They were essentially determined to be “guilty of truancy” and punished rather than supported to identify and address root causes.
These policies should give us pause. What if a student stays home because they fear for their safety? What if a student is obligated to care for a younger sibling or an ailing parent? These challenges call for compassion and nuanced intervention.
Today, more state education agencies and school systems have shifted their approach to strengthening school culture and community outreach. For example, school assemblies are used to engage students, promote safety and inclusivity, and offer support, while partnerships with local agencies help address external socioeconomic factors affecting attendance.
In fact, the White House hosted a summit on chronic absenteeism and strategies to reduce it on May 15, 2024. The event served as a call for communities to “cultivate a culture of attendance” and reinforced the message that students need to be in school to learn, both academically and socially.
In response to the post-pandemic surge in chronic absenteeism, educational leaders encouraged collaborative approaches to boosting attendance. The event also highlighted the need to collect and track real-time absence data, showing how Rhode Island and Indiana have developed online dashboards with this data.
Data-Driven Strategies for Addressing Chronic Absenteeism
Attendance data systems with advanced analytics can spot patterns of absenteeism in the early stages, enabling schools and districts to identify and engage at-risk students and tailor interventions based on their unique needs and circumstances. Educators and administrators can involve parents in the process and connect them with services and programs to help them overcome obstacles that contribute to absenteeism.
Systems can then track and measure all activity to determine the success of specific interventions, continuously improving efforts to return chronic absenteeism to pre-pandemic rates.
Resultant worked with Indiana Department of Education officials, including State Superintendent Katie Jenner, a vocal advocate of a robust data platform at the White House summit, to implement dashboards with attendance data.
The Indiana solution provides insights into student attendance by corporation, school, grade, and date. An Early Warning Indicator System leverages attendance as a key variable for predicting risk of not graduating on time.
Indiana GPS: Preparing Students for Life Beyond High School
Critical to the success of this initiative is the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) dashboard. According to the official website, Indiana GPS seeks to:
- Empower educators by providing a variety of essential data points to support continuous improvement of student learning across the K–12 continuum.
- Support families and community stakeholders by providing meaningful, relevant, and transparent information about school progress and performance.
- Elevate the highest-performing schools as models of excellence, and identify other schools for additional support.
Indiana GPS defines a set of characteristics that indicate a student’s preparation for success after high school, beginning in kindergarten. Performance indicators include metrics such as kindergarten readiness, the number of students who have mastered foundational reading skills by the end of third grade, 21st Century Scholars Enrollment, and graduation pathway completion. Innovative metrics such as career exploration, high-quality work-based learning, and employability skills are being developed through research and development with community partners.\
Rather than just having an old-fashioned spreadsheet, which is what we’ve always had, we now have a transparent attendance insights dashboard that will make it easier to see and interact with the local and state data
– Dr. Jenner
A more nuanced, student-focused approach provides education leaders with a deeper understanding of chronic absenteeism and enables the proactive implementation of targeted interventions at the student level. They can apply learnings from one district that has produced positive results to another that may be struggling to achieve predefined objectives.
Schools, districts, and policymakers can also use these data insights to disrupt absenteeism patterns by third grade, examine multi-year attendance trajectories, tailor interventions based on root causes, and inform policy decisions to direct resources to schools with the highest need.
Conclusion
The reactive approach of labeling and punishing students and parents for absenteeism is being replaced by a proactive, collaborative approach that prioritizes early engagement and intervention, inclusion, and support within the school and in the community, and the short- and long-term success of each individual student.
Positive outcomes and efficiency demand an attendance data system and analytics solution that can flag the warning signs of chronic absenteeism, customize interventions at the student level, and track and measure the success of interventions for individual students and entire schools and districts. A statewide solution will ensure consistency in data, tracking, and reporting.
Ultimately, state education agencies, school district leadership, principals, teachers, parents, and technology partners must work together to support the development of each student. Through a combination of reliable data and technology, sound processes, and dedicated people, we can chart a course for a brighter future in school and in life.
The Resultant team understands that the journey can seem daunting. We’re ready to illuminate the path forward with trusted expertise and a deep understanding of educational landscapes. Let’s work together to transform your absenteeism challenges into opportunities for growth and success.
Reach out to discuss how we can tailor a solution that aligns with the needs of your education system.
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