Lingering Absence in Public Schools: Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2024
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| Title: | Lingering Absence in Public Schools: Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2024 |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Nat Malkus, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) |
| Source: | American Enterprise Institute. 2025. |
| Availability: | American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 25 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Attendance, COVID-19, Pandemics, Geographic Location, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, School Districts, Academic Achievement, Academic Failure, Trend Analysis, Poverty, Rural Urban Differences, School District Size, One Parent Family, Urban Schools, Rural Schools, Suburban Schools |
| Abstract: | Chronic absenteeism spiked during the pandemic and remains a serious problem. Drawing on the American Enterprise Institute's Return to Learn Tracker chronic absenteeism data collection, which includes district-level data from 44 states, this report documents modest progress: National chronic absenteeism fell to 25.4 percent in 2023 and to 23.5 percent in 2024. This report begins with a basic overview of research on chronic absenteeism and shows chronic absenteeism rates throughout the pandemic, overall and by state. This is followed by an examination of changes in absenteeism by district characteristics and student race and a gauge of states' progress since 2022 against two benchmarks. All told, the data continue to demonstrate that chronic absenteeism rates remain substantially elevated and that hopes of post-pandemic academic recovery still require getting students to attend school more consistently. The author discusses these results and why they warrant urgent and sustained attention. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED673951 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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