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Supporting Positive Attendance Outcomes: Seven Frequently Asked Questions about Student Engagement and Attendance

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Supporting Positive Attendance Outcomes: Seven Frequently Asked Questions about Student Engagement and Attendance
Language: English
Authors: Jackson Miller, Lori Nathanson, Tabitha Reynolds Hoang, Tawheedah Abdullah, Max Altman, Southern Education Foundation (SEF), Equity Assistance Center-South (EAC-South)
Source: Equity Assistance Center-South. 2025.
Availability: Equity Assistance Center-South. 101 Marietta Street NW, 16th Floor Suite 1650, Atlanta, GA 30303. Tel: 202-523-0001; e-mail: eacsouth@southerneducation.org; Web site: https://southerneducation.org/eac-south/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: Department of Education (ED)
Contract Number: S004D220011
Document Type: Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Attendance, Attendance Patterns, Truancy, Average Daily Attendance, Incidence, Learner Engagement, Underserved Students, Barriers, Data Collection, School Districts, State Agencies, State School District Relationship, Educational Strategies, Multi Tiered Systems of Support, Access to Education, Family School Relationship, Educational Policy
Abstract: Research finds that consistent attendance at school is linked to positive student outcomes and supports students' well-being and personal development. Historically underserved populations like students of color and students from low-income families -- in many cases, such policies have simply been designed with little attention to the full range of student contexts. Teachers, school leaders, state and district staff, and many others make choices about attendance processes, policies, and practices that continue to have differential effects on students and families. It is extremely important to ensure that these policies support all students and produce beneficial outcomes, but far too often they reinforce rather than disrupt inequities. This brief addresses a set of essential questions about student engagement and attendance and provides strategies and resources to support the creation of effective policies and approaches to combat chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism rates (defined by the U.S. Department of Education as the proportion of students who miss at least 10 percent of school days, or approximately 18 days in a given year) have risen over the past decade, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem. Up to 2.7 times as many students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year compared with pre-pandemic counts and two-thirds of all U.S. students that year attended a school in which at least 20% of enrolled students were chronically absent. Absenteeism rates for students from lower-income backgrounds have continued to worsen during the 2021-22 school year relative to rates for students from higher-income backgrounds. Researchers have identified correlations between chronic absenteeism and learning loss, lower academic achievement, and reduced rates of school completion, among other negative educational outcomes. To address these patterns, states and districts are working to provide more equitable learning environments for all students. The Student Engagement and Attendance Center (SEAC) used the Districts Advancing Racial Equity (DARE) tool to frame the responses to questions highlighted in this brief with an equity lens. The DARE tool is a framework for understanding the ecosystem of practices and policies that districts design and enact. It includes quantitative and qualitative indicators that track progress toward equity-related goals over time and support data-informed decision-making. Answers to these questions can help identify changes in attendance policies, data collection, and practices to better align with equity considerations. Responses to each question describe the essential issue and include links to strategies and resources for learning more and mitigating the issue at the state or local level. States, districts, and schools may use the answers and resources this document provides to address issues specific to their local context with educators, students, families, and community members. [This report was prepared with the Student Engagement and Attendance Center (SEAC).]
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED677247
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Research finds that consistent attendance at school is linked to positive student outcomes and supports students' well-being and personal development. Historically underserved populations like students of color and students from low-income families -- in many cases, such policies have simply been designed with little attention to the full range of student contexts. Teachers, school leaders, state and district staff, and many others make choices about attendance processes, policies, and practices that continue to have differential effects on students and families. It is extremely important to ensure that these policies support all students and produce beneficial outcomes, but far too often they reinforce rather than disrupt inequities. This brief addresses a set of essential questions about student engagement and attendance and provides strategies and resources to support the creation of effective policies and approaches to combat chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism rates (defined by the U.S. Department of Education as the proportion of students who miss at least 10 percent of school days, or approximately 18 days in a given year) have risen over the past decade, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem. Up to 2.7 times as many students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year compared with pre-pandemic counts and two-thirds of all U.S. students that year attended a school in which at least 20% of enrolled students were chronically absent. Absenteeism rates for students from lower-income backgrounds have continued to worsen during the 2021-22 school year relative to rates for students from higher-income backgrounds. Researchers have identified correlations between chronic absenteeism and learning loss, lower academic achievement, and reduced rates of school completion, among other negative educational outcomes. To address these patterns, states and districts are working to provide more equitable learning environments for all students. The Student Engagement and Attendance Center (SEAC) used the Districts Advancing Racial Equity (DARE) tool to frame the responses to questions highlighted in this brief with an equity lens. The DARE tool is a framework for understanding the ecosystem of practices and policies that districts design and enact. It includes quantitative and qualitative indicators that track progress toward equity-related goals over time and support data-informed decision-making. Answers to these questions can help identify changes in attendance policies, data collection, and practices to better align with equity considerations. Responses to each question describe the essential issue and include links to strategies and resources for learning more and mitigating the issue at the state or local level. States, districts, and schools may use the answers and resources this document provides to address issues specific to their local context with educators, students, families, and community members. [This report was prepared with the Student Engagement and Attendance Center (SEAC).]