Absences remained as strongly related to test scores and GPAs in post-pandemic years as pre-pandemic years¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2–r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Post-pandemic correlations of absences with test scores ranged from -0.29 to -0.36 and with GPAs from -0.41 to -0.68, somewhat larger than pre-pandemic. → Allensworth 2026 q3 i? The test-score gap between sixth-graders missing 10% of days versus none was about 16 points (roughly half an IAR standard deviation) in both periods. → Allensworth 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Allensworth 2026¶

Allensworth, E.M., Antony, M., Delgado, W., & de la Torre, M. (2026). Connection, trust, and learning: Student attendance in the middle and high school grades following the COVID-19 pandemic. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/connection-trust-and-learning

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Correlational analysis linking CPS attendance records to test scores and GPAs for grades 6-11 in pre- and post-pandemic years. The brief reports correlations "somewhat larger than in pre-pandemic years" and similar absence relationships with test-score gains.

"In post-pandemic years, the correlations of absences with standardized test scores ranged from -0.29 to -0.36 across the grade levels, while the correlations of absences with GPAs ranged from -0.41 to -0.68. These correlations were somewhat larger than in pre-pandemic years."

Allensworth 2026 (2)¶

Allensworth, E.M., Antony, M., Delgado, W., & de la Torre, M. (2026). Connection, trust, and learning: Student attendance in the middle and high school grades following the COVID-19 pandemic. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/connection-trust-and-learning

q3 · i? · associational · r3

Figure 3 descriptive analysis of average test scores by absence rate for sixth and ninth grade; the 16-point difference is described as about one-half of an IAR standard deviation, similar to the 50th vs. 30th percentile difference.

"the difference in average Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test scores for sixth-graders who missed 10% of days relative to those who missed no days of school (at the far left of the regression line) was about 16 points in both pre-pandemic years (732 to 716) and in post-pandemic years (734 to 718)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Low attendance is linked with lower academic skills, grades, and high school graduation, and high attendance with higher ones — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Students with the same absence rates had higher GPAs (and in grades 7-8, higher test scores) in post-pandemic years than pre-pandemic years — related
• Multiple dimensions of school climate were associated with lower school absences, with stronger relationships after the pandemic than before — related
• Freshman attendance below 85 percent predicts non-graduation even among students with similar grades — related
• Post-pandemic, K-2 scores predict third grade ELA outcomes with smaller but still moderate-to-large correlations (0.30-0.64 for grades; 0.47-0.81 for IAR) — related
• More students were very chronically absent (missing 20% or more of days) and fewer students had strong attendance (under 5%) after the pandemic — related