While schools across the country have reopened following the coronavirus pandemic, a record number of students have not returned. According to an analysis by the Associated Press and Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee, the rate of chronic absenteeism has soared to record levels.
The most recent data shows that over 25% of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year. Before the pandemic, that number topped out at around 15%.
Seven states saw the rate of chronically absent children double from 2018-19, the last full school year before the pandemic.
Overall, an estimated 6.5 million children are considered chronically absent from school. However, the number is likely much higher because the data includes only 40 states and Washington, D.C.
There are many reasons for the rising number of students missing school, including financial hardships, illness, housing instability, and bullying. In addition, some parents and students aren't ready to return to in-person learning after their experience with remote schooling during the pandemic.
"For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day. Families got used to that," said Elmer Roldan, with the nonprofit Communities in Schools of Los Angeles.
The alarming trend has many experts worried about what will happen to students who continue to miss school.
"Children who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the third grade. Students who cannot read at grade level by the end of third grade are four times more likely than proficient readers to drop out of high school," the Department of Education explained.
The Education Department also noted that students who are chronically absent are more likely to drop out of school altogether, which has been "linked to poor outcomes later in life, from poverty and diminished health to involvement in the criminal justice system."