Chronic Absenteeism in Schools: Causes, Patterns, and Effective Strategies

Chronic Absenteeism is a Real Problem

Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% or more of school days due to excused or unexcused absences or suspensions. Roughly 6.5 million more students are missing 10% or more of their school days. 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 through eighth grade have a lower likelihood of attending higher education. Students who are frequently absent perform poorly in school and have worse long-term educational outcomes than those with better school attendance.

Understanding the Root Causes of Chronic Absenteeism

When a student does not show up for school, there are many reasons, and as a minor, some are beyond the young student’s or their family’s control. To understand the root causes of absenteeism, we need to examine structural issues in society, the community where students live, and the school culture at the schools they attend.

• What was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to absenteeism?
• Is the student’s family experiencing homelessness?
• Is the student’s family afraid of immigration enforcement?
• Do they have reliable transportation?
• Do they understand expectations and school policies?
• Is the student getting mental health support?
• Is the student experiencing bullying or peer conflict?
  
  

Pandemic-Era Shifts in Attendance Expectations

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered how students and families view school attendance. Extended periods of remote and hybrid learning disrupted long-standing norms around daily, in-person participation and introduced new expectations around flexibility. For some students, the transition back to traditional attendance has been uneven, particularly when school no longer feels immediately relevant to their needs or circumstances.

In the post-pandemic environment, chronic absenteeism is not only a logistical or health issue, but also a reflection of student perception. When students struggle academically, feel disconnected from school culture, or experience anxiety or burnout, the perceived value of attending school can diminish. This shift underscores the importance of helping students see school as meaningful, supportive, and worth attending—not just mandatory.

Schools responding to chronic absenteeism today must account for these changed expectations. Re-engaging students often requires renewed attention to relevance, relationship-building, mental health supports, and clear communication with families about the purpose and benefits of consistent attendance.

Student Perspective to Absenteeism

Interestingly, while academic studies on absenteeism are readily available, very few studies have actually focused on listening to students and asking directly why they are absent—talking with them, not about them. Heather Tsavaris and the Designing for Community Well-Being team at The Columbus Foundation did just this, listened to high school students in urban schools in Ohio, and found many notable observations:

• Chronic absenteeism is driven. “We heard stories about fear, embarrassment, and quiet panic about not graduating.”
• Attendance is a daily value calculation. Students asked if time in school is worth it.
• Transportation and work barriers played a role, but context mattered. High school-age students would show up for social events they considered important.
• Students applied all-or-nothing thinking. Missing a morning would result in missing the whole day.
  
  

What Can Schools Do to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism?

Support Academically Struggling Students

One reason students miss school is academic difficulties that can stem from issues at home, insufficient individualized attention, or other factors. Teachers often work with fewer resources and more students, creating a learning gap. This gap usually leaves students feeling lost, falling behind on assignments, failing tests, and doing poorly on standardized tests. 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 essential in building a strong school culture where students can succeed.

Address Bullying

A 2023 survey by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, 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) into 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.
• A “see something, say something” school culture fosters positive social expectations and helps develop empathy.
  
  

Focus on Student Health

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.
  
  

Develop Family Engagement Practices

Family engagement is an ongoing process where families have an equitable place in the school community. When families see themselves as partners of the school, they are more likely to support their child’s homework, contact their child’s teacher with questions or input, and seek community support when needed.

Dr. Karen L. Mapp reminds us that inclusive family engagement begins with a clear invitation from the school. Dr. Mapp recommends a home visit at the beginning of the school year to build trust between school and home and level perceived power differences between school and family.

Focus on Inclusive, Two-Way School Communication

Two-way communication allows the families’ voices to be heard. Families should have easy ways to contact their child’s teacher, provide anonymous feedback, and request in-person meetings, even if English is not their home language. Two-way communication works best with a unified approach in which all stakeholders understand their specific roles in reducing absenteeism.

Empower Student-led Solutions

Heather Tsavaris and the Designing for Community Well-Being team at The Columbus Foundation remind that students are capable coming up with solutions to help solve absenteeism. In their study, the students came up with ideas such as flexible attendance, guidance counselor meet-ups, reward systems contextualized with higher expectations, and small text reminders with special emphasis on sleep and routines. When schools identify why students are absent and listen to the students themselves, the resulting strategies are more precise, more humane, and more effective.

The Takeaway: Invest in Building a Positive School Culture

Addressing absenteeism effectively is about investing in a positive school culture; weaving student success into the school’s mission statement; supporting academically struggling students; developing proactive prevention systems; partnering with local community to provide transportation; implementing strong bullying prevention programs; and investing in community programs.  Family engagement, talking with the students to problem-solve, and effective school communication practices enable addressing issues proactively and positively, and make absenteeism prevention a team effort.

Notes

This article was edited on January 18, 2026 by Meri Kuusi-Shields to incorporate additional research and perspective, including structural root causes of absenteeism, findings from the Columbus Foundation study on student voice, and the role of family engagement and two-way school–family communication.

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

Tsavaris, Heather for The Columbus Foundation (2026) Listening First: What Students Teach Us About Chronic Absenteeism. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/listening-first-what-students-teach-us-chronic-absenteeism

The Columbus Foundation (2024). Chronic Absenteeism: Co-Design Project Summary
https://columbusfoundation.org/media/o54dif4p/design-project-summary_chronic-absenteeism_2025.pdf

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