Tag: education

Chronic absenteeism in U.S. schools surged during the pandemic and remains alarmingly high, with millions of students continuing to miss weeks of class each year. Despite efforts to reverse the trend, the problem shows no sign of going away quickly.

Key Facts:

• Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of school in a year.
• The rate peaked at 31% in 2021–22 and has only dropped to 19.3% by 2025.
• Washington, D.C., Oregon, Hawaii, and New Mexico report the worst attendance rates, some nearing 50%.
• Low-income students, English learners, and students with disabilities are disproportionately affected.
• Some districts are paying students to attend school or adjusting schedules and tech use to address the issue.

The Rest of The Story:

Despite falling from pandemic highs, chronic absenteeism remains about 50% higher than it was before COVID-19.

A recent study from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) found that students continue to miss school more often and for longer stretches.

As of March 2025, the national average sits at 19.3%. Efforts to curb the trend vary. Districts like Detroit spend up to $1,000 per student annually to boost attendance.

Others tie attendance to grades or restrict online assignment flexibility. In some areas, schools delay start times or try disabling district devices at night to improve sleep and reduce distractions.

“We can pour all the money into schools and teachers, but if kids aren’t showing up, it’s not helping,” pediatrician Mary Beth Miotto told the Boston Globe, calling for school attendance to be treated like a “vital sign” by doctors.

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As the new school year begins next month, it has become ever clearer that American public schools are facing a noticeable decline in enrollment. Even several years after schools reopened in the wake of the Covid shutdowns, many parents have either continued homeschooling or gone on to enroll their children in private or charter schools, apparently fed up with their neighborhood public schools.

A recent report in Education Next from researchers Joshua Goodman and Abigail Francis offers some numbers that support what many of us teachers have observed firsthand. They mainly focus on enrollment in Massachusetts’ public schools, where the total enrollment in 2024 was “4.2 percent lower than it was in fall 2019,” and the numbers in future school years are only going to continue to worsen under these conditions. Moreover, the drop was steeper among white and Asian students and mainly occurred in the middle school grades (five through eight).

It’s significant that this is happening in Massachusetts, a state with a well-funded school system that routinely leads the country year after year and has set the standard for public education ever since Horace Mann invented the whole concept nearly two centuries ago. If enrollment is declining here, then it’s fair to conclude that this is happening nationwide. Indeed, Goodman and Francis say as much: “Fall 2023 public school enrollment nationwide was 2.8 percent below predicted levels compared to a 2.6 percent drop for Massachusetts by fall 2024.”

So what accounts for the decline? Why is it more pronounced among whites and Asians? And why is it during middle school?

It should go without saying that the leftist responses to this question, usually revolving around funding, equity, and accessibility, are utterly misguided. On the whole, public schools are amply endowed — particularly in Massachusetts, which spends more than $24,000 a student — and they are decked out with every instructional resource a teacher could ever want. Most campuses aren’t the squalid, impoverished, gang-infested dens depicted in movies like Dangerous Minds or shows like Abbot Elementary. Rather, they are generally clean, boring, and look more like corporate offices.

The real reasons for declining enrollment ironically have more to do with the inverse of these complaints: Public schools are now excessively funded and overly obsessed with equity and accessibility, which then prevents them from being reformed. Regardless of the state, most public schools are now failing in three critical areas that parents care about when deciding on their children’s K-12 education: academic rigor, student discipline, and the campus’ moral influence.

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