Key points:
- Districts using proactive attendance interventions are seeing more sustained improvements
- Chronic absenteeism threatens to derail K-12 education
- Why SEL must be part of the chronic absenteeism solution
- For more on student attendance, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub
For the first half of the 2024-25 school year, overall K-12 student attendance rates have improved, continuing the progress seen over the past two years, according to a new analysis from SchoolStatus.
However, the rate of improvement has slowed considerably, signaling a need for continued and expanded intervention strategies–particularly for older students, who remain the most affected by pandemic-related disruptions.
The 2024-25 Mid-Year K-12 Student Attendance Snapshot examines student attendance trends from September 2024 through January 2025 and analyzes data from more than 1 million students in 143 districts across seven states that have used proactive attendance management strategies for three consecutive years (2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-2025 to date).
Key insights into student attendance in 2024-25
The overall daily attendance rate for grades PK-12 this year is 93.45 percent–close to pre-pandemic norms. While overall attendance rates have improved by 0.31 percent this year, the growth rate has lost momentum compared to the 1.16 percent increase from 2022-23 to 2023-24.
Grades 10-12 show a regression in the first half of the school year with attendance rates between .04 percent and .16 percent lower than last year–and an increase in chronic absenteeism of 1.90 percent compared to last year.
Younger students (PK–4) are nearing pre-pandemic attendance levels, with a 93.82 percent attendance rate and an improvement rate of .56 percent–showing the strongest recovery.
Seventh grade emerges as a ‘tipping point,’ where attendance rates begin to drop and chronic absenteeism starts rising, echoing national trends of growing middle school disengagement.
Over the past three years, attendance in U.S. schools has significantly declined with only gradual improvements nationwide. Before COVID-19, national attendance rates for PK-12 averaged 94 percent, but most recently dropped to 90 percent, according to NCES. In contrast, SchoolStatus reports a mid-year 2024-25 daily attendance rate of 93.45 percent, demonstrating that districts using proactive attendance interventions and strategies are seeing more sustained improvements compared to the national average despite signs of potential regression for older students.
This snapshot follows new research from NCES’ NAEP Report and the Education Recovery Scorecard that underscores the continued delay in academic recovery and highlights chronic absenteeism as a key driver of stalled progress.
“The national conversation on chronic absenteeism has largely focused on the long-term consequences of learning loss, but what’s equally important is work to get students back into classrooms and engaged,” said Dr. Joy Smithson, Data Scientist at SchoolStatus. “Districts using proactive strategies–like family engagement and proactive, positive outreach–are seeing the biggest attendance gains. Our mid-year data confirms that while younger students are on track, older students need renewed focus and support. This data trend underscores the need for sustained and tailored strategies to support consistent student attendance across all grade levels.”
Recommendations for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year
Districts that shift their focus to positive engagement strategies, compared to traditional punitive measures, are more likely to see significant gains in student attendance. As a trusted leader in attendance management, SchoolStatus provides the following four key recommendations for districts to implement throughout the remaining school year and beyond:
- Prevention initiatives and family engagement to strengthen school-home relationships
- Early warning systems to identify at-risk students before they reach chronic absenteeism levels
- Targeted outreach and intervention strategies to proactively address attendance concerns
- Direct service coordination to support students facing barriers to consistent attendance
This press release originally appeared online.
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