Connection, Trust, and Learning: Student Attendance in the Middle and High School Grades Following the COVID-19 Pandemic. Chronic Absenteeism Series 1. Research Brief
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| Title: | Connection, Trust, and Learning: Student Attendance in the Middle and High School Grades Following the COVID-19 Pandemic. Chronic Absenteeism Series 1. Research Brief |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Elaine M. Allensworth, Meril Antony, William Delgado, Marisa de la Torre, University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, University of Chicago, Kersten Institute for Urban Education |
| Source: | University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. 2026. |
| Availability: | University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 773-702-3364; Fax: 773-702-2010; Web site: http://consortium.uchicago.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 22 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Overdeck Family Foundation Joyce Foundation Crown Family Philanthropies |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research-practitioner Partnerships Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Junior High Schools Middle Schools Secondary Education High Schools |
| Descriptors: | Middle School Students, High School Students, Attendance Patterns, COVID-19, Pandemics, Academic Achievement, Educational Environment, Neighborhoods, Demography, Scores, Educational Trends |
| Geographic Terms: | Illinois (Chicago) |
| Abstract: | In Chicago and districts across the world, school absenteeism increased dramatically following the COVID-19 pandemic, posing challenges for practitioners and raising questions about implications for student outcomes. With changing conditions in recent years, where absences are more common, many adults work from home, new policies around grades and attendance have been enacted, and there is a greater use of technology in communication and education, there are many questions about whether the pre-pandemic connections between attendance, grades, and test scores hold for today's students in today's schools. There are also many questions about the potential influence of different school and neighborhood factors on school absences. This brief summarizes findings from the first year of a multi-year study examining the causes, consequences, and impacts of absenteeism in Chicago in post-pandemic years relative to pre-pandemic years among students in grades 6-11. The focus is on the middle and high school grades because these are years when many students show a rise in absences, relative to their attendance in the elementary grades. This study uses administrative records from schools serving students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), linking student attendance and achievement to school- and neighborhood-level data sources, including "5Essentials" school climate surveys and census-based community data, such as poverty and unemployment. Details of the analyses can be found in the Supplementary Technical Appendix. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED679345 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | In Chicago and districts across the world, school absenteeism increased dramatically following the COVID-19 pandemic, posing challenges for practitioners and raising questions about implications for student outcomes. With changing conditions in recent years, where absences are more common, many adults work from home, new policies around grades and attendance have been enacted, and there is a greater use of technology in communication and education, there are many questions about whether the pre-pandemic connections between attendance, grades, and test scores hold for today's students in today's schools. There are also many questions about the potential influence of different school and neighborhood factors on school absences. This brief summarizes findings from the first year of a multi-year study examining the causes, consequences, and impacts of absenteeism in Chicago in post-pandemic years relative to pre-pandemic years among students in grades 6-11. The focus is on the middle and high school grades because these are years when many students show a rise in absences, relative to their attendance in the elementary grades. This study uses administrative records from schools serving students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), linking student attendance and achievement to school- and neighborhood-level data sources, including "5Essentials" school climate surveys and census-based community data, such as poverty and unemployment. Details of the analyses can be found in the Supplementary Technical Appendix. |
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