While it made many other aspects of life far more difficult, COVID-19 made attending school much easier for some children—all students had to do to avoid being marked absent was log into their computers from home.
Since the pandemic, when only 10.6% of Indiana’s students were chronically absent, Indiana schools have been climbing the statistic mountain, hoping to raise their attendance numbers to somewhat match the numbers e-learning brought the state.
After the percentage of chronically absent students nearly doubled to 18.5% in 2021, the state started to see improvements in attendance numbers in 2022, with the percentage of chronically absent students—those who have missed at least 10% of school days—going from 21% in 2022 to 17.8% in 2024, according to data presented by the Indiana Department of Education.
IDOE met on Thursday with the Interim Study Committee on Education to discuss the issue, sharing their findings and plans for the future of Indiana’s education system with legislators.
Here are some key takeaways from IDOE’s presentation:
What does socioeconomic status have to do with chronic absenteeism?
Since 2019, students receiving free and reduced lunches have statistically been twice as likely to be chronically absent compared to those receiving full-priced meals.
How chronic is chronic absenteeism?
Just over half of the total chronically absent students in Indiana in 2024 have only been chronically absent this year. The other half, or 49.31%, have been chronically absent this year and in at least one of the three years prior.
How quickly is the state improving?
Chronic absenteeism improved at a rate of 1.4% overall from 2023 to 2024, but populations that were the most negatively impacted by the pandemic are actually improving faster than the general student population:
• Black students improved 2.2%.
• Hispanic students improved 2.2%.
• Students receiving free/reduced-priced meals improved 2.2%.
• English learners improved 2%.
Which age groups are the most chronically absent?
Students grades 9-12 are absent the most by far, with nearly one in three Hoosier students chronically absent during their senior year. Thirty-two percent of chronically absent students were seniors for the 2023-2024 school year, nearly 10 percentage points higher than juniors, who made up 25% of chronically absent students.
Legislators did point out, however, that the data doesn’t account for students who have room in their schedules to work jobs outside of school.
How does chronic absenteeism impact literacy and test scores?
On average for students testing in 2023 and 2024, chronically absent students passed IREAD at an almost 20% lower rate than those not chronically absent.
Indiana’s students also made news after ILEARN scores revealed that almost 70% of Hoosier children failed to pass both math and English, and chronic absenteeism only makes the statistics worse.
Only 22.9% of chronically absent students passed ELA at or above proficiency in 2024, while those not chronically absent passed at a rate of 43.7%. In math, a mere 18.2% of chronically absent students passed, while 44.1% of those not chronically absent passed.
What is IDOE doing to address these concerns?
During the presentation, IDOE showcased its new Attendance Insights Dashboard, which features trends of attendance by school and corporation, allowing the state to look at specific local numbers rather than attempting to absorb statewide numbers.
More granularly, IDOE also introduced a new early-warning dashboard, which breaks down insights to focus on specific students, showing their attendance status, grade level, behavior and more.
The dashboard isn’t currently available statewide but was launched in 11 districts that are helping nail down any concerns yet to be addressed before the dashboard is released to all of Indiana’s schools.
Learn more about this future dashboard here.
Why might some students be absent? Is this only a local issue?
Chronic absenteeism isn’t an issue limited to Indiana. Earlier this year, Vox reported: “Before the pandemic, during the 2015–16 school year, an estimated 7.3 million students were deemed 'chronically absent,' meaning they had missed at least three weeks of school in an academic year. ... After the pandemic, the number of absent students has almost doubled.”
PBS put the number of students missing at least 10% of the 2021-2022 school year at almost 30%
The articles cited an array of root causes, from poverty and illness to the nation’s mental health crisis.
On a local level, Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, mentioned during the meeting that some families just don’t ascribe the same weight to school attendance that they used to.
“I think people are getting used to saying, ‘We'll go two days early for vacation, we'll come back two days later after vacation, and Friday, we got to go see Grandma,’” Delaney said. “So, one of my concerns is not just with the schools, but we've got to get the message to the parents that you got to get your kid in the seat.”