School has profoundly, and perhaps permanently, changed because too many students aren’t making it to the classroom, according to The Hechinger Report. Here are seven insights from a May symposium at the American Enterprise Institute regarding the problem of widespread absenteeism.
1) Chronic absenteeism is 50 percent higher than before the pandemic
The chronic absenteeism rate nearly doubled after the pandemic, from 15 percent of students in 2018-19 to a peak of almost 29 percent of students in 2021-22. This is the number of students who miss at least 10 percent, or 18 or more days, of school a year. Chronic absenteeism was still at 23.5 percent in 2023-24, according to the most recent AEI data.
Chronic absenteeism is more than 50 percent higher than it used to be. Of 48 million public school students, from K-12, about 1 in 4, or 11 million students, are missing too much school.
2) High-income, high-achieving students are skipping out
Students from both low- and high-income families are often absent. So are high-achieving students. Rates are highest among students in low-income districts — 30 percent of students are chronically absent, according to AEI data. But even in high-income districts, chronic absenteeism has jumped more than 50 percent — from about 10 percent of students to more than 15 percent. More than 15 percent of students in the highest-achieving school districts (the top third) are chronically absent, up from 10 percent in pre-pandemic years.
3) Everyone is missing more school
A researcher tracked 8 million students in three states (Texas, North Carolina and Virginia) from 2017 to 2023. In 2019, half had “very good” absentee rates under 4 percent. In 2023, only a third of students were going to school as consistently. Two-thirds were not.
4) Many students miss class because school is ‘boring’
Why are so many kids skipping out?
A researcher analyzed surveys of elementary, middle and high school students in Rhode Island from 2016 to 2024 and found more students missed schooling for the common reasons of not getting enough sleep and illness.
But this doesn’t explain why physically healthy kids also miss too much school.
Two post-pandemic differences were noted among the students in Rhode Island. Unfinished homework is less likely today to explain absenteeism, and more elementary school students skipped school because “it’s boring.”
5) Mental health issues lead to disengaged students
Another researcher noted a “strong connection” between mental health struggles and chronic absenteeism. It’s not clear if increasing mental illness was triggered or exacerbated by the pandemic, or did anxiety and depression issues begin before the pandemic?
The researcher is seeing high levels of “disengagement” and mental illness. Parents are often very concerned about their children’s mental health and well-being.
Many students have severe traumas, with legitimate reasons for missing school. This researcher says, “the school is not serving them well.”
6) Missing face time is the new norm
Profound cultural shifts have come about diminishing the importance of in-person anything, suggest researchers. In-person schooling may be as optional to students as going to the office feels optional for adults.
Social norms about in-person attendance has changed, whether it’s meeting with the doctor or whatever,” says a researcher. “We’re going to be absent now for reasons that would not have caused us to be absent in the past.”
Also, technology makes it easier for students to skip school and make up the work. They can download assignments on Google Classroom or another app and schedule a video meeting with a classmate or even their teacher to review what they missed.
People like that everything is available online and convenient, making it much easier for people – children and adults — to be absent.
Another factor: students haven’t been slapped with the most severe consequence of skipping out: failing. As absenteeism has surged, school grades and graduation rates have been rising. Grade inflation and trying to avoid a high school dropout epidemic are to blame, according to many experts.
7) Absenteeism today could cause labor force problems tomorrow
More than pandemic learning losses, there are more profound and little understood reasons why students are so far behind.
Attending school regularly doesn’t just improve academic performance, researchers say. It sets up good habits for the future. “Employers value regular attendance,” says one researcher. Employers he has interviewed are having trouble finding reliable workers.
Showing up is a valuable personality trait. The habit forms early in school. “We’ve definitely lost some of that. And hopefully we can bring it back,” says a researcher.
The Hechinger Report
