Study: 7.5 Million US Students Chronically Absent

Several media outlets are covering a new report from Johns Hopkins University education researcher Robert Balfanz which pointed to high numbers of chronically absent students, and to the follow-on negative impact that such absenteeism has on academic outcomes. USA Today (5/18, Toppo) reports that the study shows that "on any given day, about 90% of USA students come to school." However, the new study shows "less flattering figures," and "suggests that as many as 7.5 million students miss a month of school each year, raising the likelihood that they'll fail academically and eventually drop out of high school." Balfanz study estimates that "10% to 15% of students nationwide are 'chronically absent' from school, missing enough class time to be at 'severe risk' of dropping out." Moreover, Balfanz panned most states for failing to measure such chronic absenteeism.

The AP (5/18, Turner) reports also covers this story, focusing on the "startling" finding that "only six states track chronic absenteeism in schools." The AP quotes Balfanz saying, "No one is measuring this most fundamental thing-are kids attending school regularly. You can't even analyze what's working in closing the achievement gap without looking first at chronic absenteeism." Balfanz said the lack of systematic state tracking of chronic absenteeism makes it difficult to quantify the "scope of the problem. The US Department of Education requires states to track daily attendance, but those numbers don't reflect students who are chronically absent," the AP notes.

 

Sarah D. Sparks writes about Balfanz' research at the Education Week (5/18) "Inside School Research" blog, noting that while ED "and policymakers work to improve a list of 'dropout factory' schools," the study "suggests there may be an equally problematic list of 'drop-in' factories, schools in which a significant percentage of students attend sporadically." The study "found that, among the six states studied, chronic absenteeism ranged from a low of 6 percent in Nebraska (in 2010-11) to a high of nearly one in four students in Oregon (based on 2009-10 data.)." Moreover, the chronically-absent rate can rise to up to 25% in high-poverty areas, and up to 33% in rural areas. MSNBC (5/18, Omer) also covers this story online, as does Maureen Downey at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5/18) "Get Schooled" blog, who notes that the study recommends that ED include data on chronic absenteeism in its annual Office for Civil Rights School Survey.