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Why Were You Absent? Students' Reasons for Missing School before and after the Pandemic

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Title: Why Were You Absent? Students' Reasons for Missing School before and after the Pandemic
Language: English
Authors: Kevin A. Gee, Peter Yu, Arya Ansari, 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: 29
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Elementary Education
Junior High Schools
Middle Schools
Secondary Education
High Schools
Descriptors: Attendance, COVID-19, Pandemics, Student Characteristics, Gender Differences, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Academic Achievement, Socioeconomic Status, Poverty, Minority Group Students, Barriers, Diseases, Sleep, Safety, Well Being, Child Health, Institutional Characteristics, Psychological Patterns, Bullying, Responsibility, Substance Abuse, Homework, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, High School Students
Geographic Terms: Rhode Island
Abstract: In the United States, chronic absenteeism--defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year--dramatically increased during the pandemic and remains stubbornly high, affecting nearly a quarter of K-12 students. Several states have pledged to reduce chronic absenteeism, which requires tackling the underlying causes by analyzing the reasons students themselves report. This report leverages data from Rhode Island to analyze the percentage of students in grades three through 12 who have reported particular reasons for their absences and evaluates how that percentage has changed over time. It focuses particularly on changes that occurred between the pre-pandemic (2019-20) and post-pandemic (2023-24) school years. Also examined is how the prevalence of reasons differed across students by gender and race and ethnicity and across schools by achievement levels and proportions of students in poverty, minority students, and chronically absent students. The findings from this report point to both continuity and change in the reasons for students missing school from pre- to post-COVID, with illness and lack of sleep remaining the most common challenges reported by students. Although post-pandemic increases in many of the reported reasons are small relative to their initial pre-pandemic levels (increasing by less than a percentage point), some increases, like reports of being absent due to illness, point to a potential pattern in the drivers of absences that schools should closely monitor to ensure they do not continue to increase. Further, rising rates of disengagement, particularly among elementary and middle school students, and growing safety concerns among both groups suggest deeper and more systemic challenges that should be addressed.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED677948
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Why Were You Absent? Students' Reasons for Missing School before and after the Pandemic
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kevin+A%2E+Gee%22">Kevin A. Gee</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Peter+Yu%22">Peter Yu</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Arya+Ansari%22">Arya Ansari</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22American+Enterprise+Institute+%28AEI%29%22">American Enterprise Institute (AEI)</searchLink>
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  Data: American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Secondary+Education%22">Elementary Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Junior+High+Schools%22">Junior High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22High+Schools%22">High Schools</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attendance%22">Attendance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19%22">COVID-19</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pandemics%22">Pandemics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Characteristics%22">Student Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Differences%22">Gender Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Racial+Differences%22">Racial Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethnicity%22">Ethnicity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+Achievement%22">Academic Achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Socioeconomic+Status%22">Socioeconomic Status</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Poverty%22">Poverty</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Minority+Group+Students%22">Minority Group Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Barriers%22">Barriers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Diseases%22">Diseases</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sleep%22">Sleep</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Safety%22">Safety</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well+Being%22">Well Being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Health%22">Child Health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Institutional+Characteristics%22">Institutional Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+Patterns%22">Psychological Patterns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bullying%22">Bullying</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Responsibility%22">Responsibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Substance+Abuse%22">Substance Abuse</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Homework%22">Homework</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+School+Students%22">Elementary School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+School+Students%22">Middle School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+School+Students%22">High School Students</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rhode+Island%22">Rhode Island</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: In the United States, chronic absenteeism--defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year--dramatically increased during the pandemic and remains stubbornly high, affecting nearly a quarter of K-12 students. Several states have pledged to reduce chronic absenteeism, which requires tackling the underlying causes by analyzing the reasons students themselves report. This report leverages data from Rhode Island to analyze the percentage of students in grades three through 12 who have reported particular reasons for their absences and evaluates how that percentage has changed over time. It focuses particularly on changes that occurred between the pre-pandemic (2019-20) and post-pandemic (2023-24) school years. Also examined is how the prevalence of reasons differed across students by gender and race and ethnicity and across schools by achievement levels and proportions of students in poverty, minority students, and chronically absent students. The findings from this report point to both continuity and change in the reasons for students missing school from pre- to post-COVID, with illness and lack of sleep remaining the most common challenges reported by students. Although post-pandemic increases in many of the reported reasons are small relative to their initial pre-pandemic levels (increasing by less than a percentage point), some increases, like reports of being absent due to illness, point to a potential pattern in the drivers of absences that schools should closely monitor to ensure they do not continue to increase. Further, rising rates of disengagement, particularly among elementary and middle school students, and growing safety concerns among both groups suggest deeper and more systemic challenges that should be addressed.
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    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 29
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Attendance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: COVID-19
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pandemics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Characteristics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gender Differences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Racial Differences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethnicity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic Achievement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Socioeconomic Status
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Poverty
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Minority Group Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Barriers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Diseases
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sleep
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Safety
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Well Being
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child Health
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Institutional Characteristics
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      – SubjectFull: Psychological Patterns
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      – SubjectFull: Bullying
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      – SubjectFull: Responsibility
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      – SubjectFull: Substance Abuse
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Homework
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Elementary School Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Middle School Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: High School Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Rhode Island
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Why Were You Absent? Students' Reasons for Missing School before and after the Pandemic
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              Y: 2025
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