Schools Set to Reopen Amid Chronic Absenteeism
A
Quarter of all students still cutting class 5 years after COVID closures. BY VAN CHARLES
s they begin ramping up for another year, school districts across the coun- try are battling a common
problem: chronic absenteeism. Defined as a student missing
10% or more of a school year, chronic absenteeism isn’t a new phenomenon, but it spiked to record levels during the COVID- 19 pandemic and is slowing at a concerning rate. Nationally, an estimated 27.8%
of students were chronically absent during the 2022-2023 school year, according to the latest data posted by the Department of Education. The number marks a slight
decline from the previous year but still is considerably higher than pre- pandemic rates. Educators speculated following
the pandemic that the rate, which in 2020 was 13.3%, would revert to that level but that isn’t happening. “It has been over five years since
the U.S. shut down for COVID, and in many ways, the country has moved past the pandemic,” said Nat Malkus of the American Enterprise Institute, who produced a report comparing chronic absenteeism before and since the pandemic. “For U.S. schools, however, the pandemic’s toll has not passed so quickly. Student academic achievement remains depressed, and chronic absenteeism continues to hover substantially above the pre- pandemic baseline. “Rates are falling, but not nearly
fast enough.” Malkus said in 2024, nearly 95%
of students attended a district with an absentee rate that exceeded its 2019 level, and those with the highest rates before the pandemic remain the highest among the states. Educators said being chronically
absent creates myriad issues for students, ranging from the likelihood they will fall seriously behind to higher rates of dropping out. “Research suggests that children
who are chronically absent for multiple years between preschool and second grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the third grade,” officials with the Department of Education said. “This has been shown elsewhere to make students four times more
likely to not graduate from high school” and “chronic absenteeism can also further disengage students from their learning and connections with their peers and with other caring adults.” Even states with the lowest levels
of chronic absenteeism are hovering right around 20%, according to data released by the Department of Education. New Jersey and Idaho had the lowest rates, at just under 17%, but they were outliers among most of the rest of the country. Washington, D.C., had the highest
rate in the nation at 47%, followed by Oregon at 44%, Alaska and New Mexico at 43%, and Arizona at 41%. When examined by race, the Department of Education reported that the most chronically absent students were American Indians, at 46.1%, and Pacific Islanders, at 45.1%. Asian students had the lowest rate
Top 10 Chronic Absences Washington, D.C.
Oregon Alaska
New Mexico Arizona Nevada Montana
Washington New York
at 15%, followed by white students at 22%, students of two or more races at 30%, Hispanic students at 33%, and Black students at 37%. Malkus’ study compared chronic absenteeism based on achievement level, poverty level, minority density, remote versus in-person learning and urban versus suburban and rural districts. He reported the lowest achievers
47% 44% 43% 43% 41% 39% 36% 35% 35%
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, 2022-2023 data
went from 19% chronic absenteeism in 2019 to 35% in 2022, while middle-achieving students jumped from 16% to 29%, and high achievers from 10% to 19%. By 2024, the lowest achieving
districts had the largest decline, dropping 6%, while the middle dropped 4% and the high dropped 3%. Yet between the groups, the lowest ended 2024 with the highest rates of chronic absenteeism, Malkus’ report said.
AUGUST 2025 | NEWSMAX 25
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