“Chronic absences more often affects disadvantaged students, but the increase in chronic absences was an unfortunate tide, in which all boats were rising,” says Nat Malcus, a deputy director of AEI education studies.
The data show strikingly large differences in race and ethnicity, with 36 percent of black students, 33 percent of Spanish -eating students, 22 percent of white students, and 15 percent of Asian students chronically absent. But the researchers said that after controlling the income, racial differences were not so big. In other words, chronic absenteeism rates among black -white students with the same income are not so different.
3. Moderate absences increases.
Everyone lacks more school, not just students who are often absent. Jacob Kirksie, Assistant Professor of Education Policy at Texas Technical University, traced 8 million students in three states (Texas, North Carolina and Virginia) from 2017 to 2023, half had “very good” absent percentages under 4 percent in 2019. Two -thirds were not.
“Many students who did not miss school are now missing a few days,” says Ethan Hut, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who noticed the same phenomenon in North Carolina data he studied. “This just becomes the norm.”
4. Many students say they skip because the school is “boring”.
Researchers interview students and families to try to understand why so many children skip school.
Kevin G, Professor of Education at the University of California, Davis, analyzes studies of elementary, secondary and high school students in the genus of 2016. Until 2024, he found that more students reported a missing school for traditionally common reasons: they did not receive enough sleep and disease.
After the pandemic, parents are more likely to keep their children home from school when they get sick, but that does not explain why absences are so high or why physically healthy children are also missing so much school.
Gee found two remarkable post -pandemic differences among students in the genus Island. Unfinished homework is a less reason to skip school today than before, while more elementary school students said they had skipped school because “it’s boring.”
Researchers at the symposium discussed what to do for the school boring. Some mental lessons at school should be more engaged for students who may have more short -range attention. But others did not agree. “I think it’s good to be boring,” says Liz Cohen, a research associate at the Jones Hopkins Institute for Education Policy. “We have to adjust the expectations that the school should be as exciting as Dora Researcher all the time.”
5. Mental health problems contribute to absences.
Morgan Polikov, a professor of education at the University of Southern California, also analyzes studies and noticed a “strong connection” between the struggles for mental health and chronic absences. It was unclear whether the increase in mental illness was triggered or plowed by the pandemic or whether it reflects problems with anxiety and depression that began before the pandemic.
He interviews families and teenagers about why they are absent and says he sees high levels of “disconnection” and mental illness. The parents, he said, were often very concerned about the mental health and well -being of their children.
“Reading the transcripts of these parents and children who are absent chronically is really difficult,” Polikov said. “Many of these children have really severe injuries. Many of many legitimate reasons for the missing school. A truly chronic separation. The school does not serve them well.”
6. The display has become optional.
Several researchers have suggested that there are deep cultural changes about the importance of a personal thing. Seth Gerscheson, an economist and a public associate professor at the American University, suggested that a personal school may look optional to students in the same way as going to the office feels optional to adults.
“Social standards for personality attendance have changed, whether it is a meeting with the doctor or whatever,” said Gershson, saying that even his graduates are more likely to skip their hours. “We will now be absent for reasons that would not cause us to be absent in the past.”
At the same time, technology has made it easier for students to skip school and make up the work. They can download tasks on Google Classroom or other app and plan a video meeting with a classmate or even a teacher to overcome what they have missed.
“It’s easier to be away from school and compensate it,” Policoff said. In their interviews, 39 of the 40 families said it was “easy” to compensate for absence. “People like that everything is available online and convenient. And also, there is absolutely no question in my mind that doing this is well-intentioned-it is much easier to make people absent.”
The numbers back. Gerscheson estimated that before the pandemic, skipping a 10 -day school had led the student to lose the equivalent of learning one month. Now the loss of training from this amount of absences is about 10 percent less; Instead of losing a month of school, it’s like losing 90 percent per month. Gerson said this is still big enough to make it important.
And the students did not feel the worst consequence: failure. In fact, even when absence has risen, school Degree and Graduation Completion coefficients have risen. Many blame the inflation of class and efforts to avoid an epidemic of dropping out of high school.
7. Today’s absences may mean workforce problems tomorrow.
Academic harm may not be the most significant consequence of the elevated levels of chronic absences today. In fact, researchers have estimated that returning to chronic absences before the pandemic will delete only 7.5 percent of the pandemic losses of the nation. There are other deeper (and slightly understood) reasons why students are far behind.
More importantly, the attempt to attend school regularly not only improves academic results, the researchers say. It also creates good habits for the future. “Employers appreciate regular attendance,” Gerscheson said. He said employers talked to announce that there was A problem finding reliable workersS
“There are many more than the test results here,” said Gersson. “This is a valuable personality trait. It’s part of a habit that is formed early in school. And we have definitely lost part of it. And we hope we can return it.”
Next week, I will write a subsequent column about how some schools decide the puzzle of absences-on some students-and why old pre-proponetarian playing books to reduce absences no longer work as well.
