69传媒

Families & the Community

School Attendance Suffers as Parent Attitudes Shift

By Evie Blad 鈥 August 28, 2024 4 min read
One person walking down stairs in motion effect photography inside building.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

69传媒鈥 efforts to address chronic absenteeism have hit a significant hurdle: Parents are more relaxed about attendance than before the pandemic.

District leaders , which found that, while rates of chronic absenteeism remained high during the 2023-24 school year, they fell below peak levels seen in 2021-22.

Researchers from the RAND Corporation and the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research center at Arizona State University鈥檚 Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, combined weighted survey data from 190 superintendents of districts of varying sizes and locales with state data from previous years and interviews with 12 district leaders.

鈥淒istrict leaders are saying this wasn鈥檛 merely a transitory COVID phenomenon,鈥 said Heather Schwartz, the director of the Pre-K to 12 Educational Systems Program at RAND. 鈥淚t may be fading, but it鈥檚 still around, and there鈥檚 a feeling that [parents] are not putting their foot on the gas.鈥

69传媒 are generally considered chronically absent if they miss at least 10 percent of school days in a year. Nine percent of surveyed districts reported 鈥渆xtreme鈥 levels, where at least 30 percent of their districts met that definition in the 2023-24 school year.

That鈥檚 down from 39 percent of districts with extreme absenteeism rates in 2021-22, a figure drawn from a previous analysis of state data by Attendance Works, an organization that advocates for data-driven attendance solutions.

However, a majority of districts surveyed still struggle with significant or high levels of absenteeism, as seen in the chart below.

In interviews, 11 of the 12 district leaders reported 鈥渁 shift in student and parental attitudes away from viewing school as compulsory鈥 across family income levels. In addition to persistent barriers to attendance鈥攍ike poverty, a lack of transportation, and chronic health issues鈥攑arents now allow children to miss school for family trips, less severe illnesses, and general disengagement, they said.

鈥淲e have a large community apathy issue where [parents are not committed] to their students needing to be at school on a regular basis,鈥 a suburban superintendent said, according to the study.

The findings align with previous research that suggests parents don鈥檛 understand the severity of the absenteeism crisis and may underestimate how much missed school days affect student learning. A June 6 poll by NPR/Ipsos found that 58 percent of parents saw chronic absenteeism as a 鈥渕ajor problem,鈥 but most could not correctly define it. Thirty-two percent of parent respondents identified the correct definition, while 51 percent set the bar much higher, defining chronic absenteeism as missing 20 percent of school days.

See Also

Principal David Arencibia embraces a student as they make their way to their next class at Colleyville Middle School in Colleyville, Texas on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
Principal David Arencibia embraces a student as they make their way to their next class at Colleyville Middle School in Colleyville, Texas, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
Emil T. Lippe for Education Week

Parents often underestimate how often their own children miss class, Robert Balfanz, director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, told Education Week at the time. Researchers have stressed the importance of frequent communication with parents about the importance of attendance which includes specific details about their own children鈥檚 absences.

鈥淭here often is no easily accessible or continually provided supply of information to parents on students鈥 cumulative absences to date,鈥 Balfanz said. 鈥淚t is hard to remember in April how many days of school your child missed in October and November.鈥

Superintendents conceded that systemic problems in schools鈥攍ike long-term substitute teachers, struggles engaging students, and unclear messaging during the pandemic鈥攎ay have contributed to parents鈥 shifting attitudes.

Some said stricter rules about staying home for illness during the height of the pandemic had confused parents about how to handle more minor illnesses that wouldn鈥檛 typically require a sick day. Others speculated that families grew accustomed to new remote learning technology that makes it easier for students to make up for missed days.

Ninety-three percent of districts reported efforts to combat chronic absenteeism in the previous year. Asked about a menu of options, the most commonly adopted was the use of early warning systems, in use at 70 percent of districts. Those systems track a range of indicators to predict which students are at risk of absenteeism and disengagement.

Twenty-three percent of districts said none of the methods they鈥檇 tried had been 鈥減articularly effective鈥 at addressing absenteeism, and no single intervention saw broad support. That may suggest that interventions aren鈥檛 effective, or it may suggest that their effectiveness varies greatly depending on school and family context, Schwartz said.

69传媒 may also need to tailor their approaches and messages to families, focusing on 鈥渃arrots,鈥 like positive student relationships at school, more than 鈥渟ticks,鈥 like truancy laws, she said.

鈥淭he reasons for absenteeism are diffuse, and the blunt, one-size-fits-all approach will be limited in its effectiveness,鈥 Schwartz said.

Related Tags:

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Families & the Community From Our Research Center What Educators Have to Say About Parents Texting and Calling Their Kids During School
Teachers, principals, and district leaders are increasingly frustrated by parents who do not respect student cellphone restrictions.
1 min read
Photograph of a hand holding a cellphone showing text messages from "mom" with "Did you remember to take your lunch today?" and "Don't forget you have music lessons after school." The background is a blurred open book.
Kathy Everett for Education Week
Families & the Community Opinion The 3 Secrets to Better Parent-Teacher Communication
Teachers and parents rarely receive guidance on how to effectively communicate. Here鈥檚 what two experienced educators recommend.
Adam Berger & Don Berger
4 min read
Line drawing of town landscape including a school, a child, and a parent.
Fumiko Inoue/iStock
Families & the Community Parents Call Chronic Absenteeism a Problem, But Most Can't Define It
A new poll sheds light on parents' views on chronic absenteeism and acceptable reasons to miss school.
3 min read
Empty desks within a classroom
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Families & the Community What Happens to the Lost-and-Found Mound at the End of the Year?
Most schools deal with lost-and-found piles as the school year ends. Some work with outside partners to recycle items for students in need.
5 min read
Dark gray laundry basket full of childrens' items with a white sign that reads "Lost Property"
iStock/Getty