The nagging chronic absenteeism problem that has hit schools nationwide especially hard since the pandemic remains top of mind for education leaders. But how much do you know about the factors that contribute to students’ absences?
More than 1 in 4 students nationwide were chronically absent—missing at least 10 percent of school days—during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, according to an analysis of federal data by the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University and the organization Attendance Works. That rate ticked down only slightly in 2023-24, according to the American Enterprise Institute.
Those figures represent a marked increase over pre-pandemic levels of chronic absenteeism.
As a result, attention to the problem has grown—as has interest in finding solutions.
Take the quiz below to test your knowledge about absenteeism and what the growing pool of research says about how to fight it.
