Breaking the Cycle of Chronic Absenteeism: Strategies for Schools

Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% or more of school from excused or unexcused absences or suspensions. Roughly 6.5 million more students are missing 10% or more of their school days.

What does the research show?

The research is abundant and consistent on the results of chronically absent students and their adverse effects on educational outcomes. Starting at a young age, frequent absences in kindergarten directly result in lower cognitive development and skills in later school years. Other studies have connected frequent school absences with lower standardized test scores.

Chronically absent students from kindergarten to eighth grade have decreased chances of attending higher education.

Overall, the research is clear that students who are frequently absent perform poorly in school and have worse long-term educational outcomes than those with better school attendance.

What Can Schools Do to Reduce chronic absenteeism?

Schools can reduce absenteeism by helping students who struggle academically

One reason students miss school is academic difficulties that can stem from various reasons, from issues at home to not getting enough individualized attention to meet the students’ performance needs. Teachers often work with fewer resources and more students, causing a gap in learning. This gap creates students who often feel lost, fall behind on assignments, fail tests, and do poorly on standardized testing. Skipping school due to a lack of educational support can quickly turn into a chronic problem.

Schools can combat absences stemming from academic struggles through:

• special education programs,
• early absentee identification, interventions, and strategies
• clear expectations from teachers and staff on school policies
• proactive school-home communication

Preventing students from failing and wanting to skip should be the ultimate goal of the school. Creating a positive learning environment that positively rewards academic achievements, including attendance, is important in building a strong school culture where students can succeed.

Schools can reduce absenteeism by addressing bullying

The second reason why students are absent is due to bullying. A survey conducted in 2023 by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America called the “Youth Right Now Survey” found that 40% of students have experienced some form of bullying (in-person or cyber). This number has increased nearly 20% since the 2019 survey results. Experts believe this drastic increase in bullying can be directly linked to the rise in chronic absenteeism.

Schools can combat absences stemming from bullying by:

• Establishing clear bullying prevention policies, guidelines, rules, and structures
• Promoting a positive school culture that embraces inclusion and creates a sense of belonging can decrease bullying.
• Integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) to the curriculum that builds social skills and promotes positive reinforcement for responsible decision-making.
• Having a clearly articulated open-door policy that allows students to come to any staff member with concerns without fear of consequences for reporting bullying.
• Promoting a school culture of a “see something, say something” mentality promotes good social expectations and helps develop empathy.

Schools can reduce absenteeism by managing student’s health issues properly

Poor physical health, lack of primary care, and students’ mental health issues that are on the rise may also result in absenteeism.

Schools can help students with chronic health issues by

• Establishing a clear line of communication with parents about the child’s health needs and concerns while on campus.
• Ensuring that all health forms and information are posted and collected.
• Maintaining comprehensive and accessible mental health services.
• Partnering with community programs, such as healthy diet, mental health, and after-school programs, to support students.

Invest in Building a Positive School Culture

Culture within the school is vital for the success of reducing student absences. Schools must maintain high standards with proactive prevention systems instead of systems designed to react to students already falling behind. To reduce absences, schools need to address students who are struggling with coursework, dealing with bullying issues, and those who have health concerns or disabilities.  

References

https://eddataexpress.ed.gov/ data from the 2020-2021 school year nationally, public schools

Dräger, J., Klein, M., & Sosu, E. (2024). The long‐term consequences of early school absences for educational attainment and labour market outcomes. British Educational Research Journal, 50(4), 1636–1654. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3992

Ginsburg, Alan, Phyllis Jordan and Hedy Chang, Absences Add Up: How School Attendance Influences Student Success, Attendance Works, August 2014. https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Absenses-Add-Up_September-3rd-2014.pdf

Youth Right Now, 2023. Boys and Girls Clubs of America
https://www.bgca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YouthRightNow2023_FullSurveyResults.pdf