More students were very chronically absent (missing 20% or more of days) and fewer students had strong attendance (under 5%) after the pandemic¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2031: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In 2023-24, 8% of sixth-graders were absent 20% or more of days (rare pre-pandemic), over one-fifth of ninth-graders were, and only 44% of sixth-graders and 30% of ninth-graders missed less than 5%. → Allensworth 2026

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 · r3

Descriptive breakdown of absence categories (Figure 2) for sixth and ninth grade, with other grades showing similar patterns. The brief reports only "44% of sixth-graders and 30% of ninth-graders missed less than 5%" in 2023-24, down from two-thirds and almost one-half.

"While it was rare for sixth-grade students to be absent 20% or more before the pandemic, 8% of students were absent this much in the 2023–24 school year. In the ninth grade, over one-fifth of students were absent 20% or more."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Chronic absenteeism in grades 6-11 in Chicago increased by about 20 percentage points after the pandemic and remained high through 2023-24 — related
• 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
• Schools with strong social-emotional value-added help ninth-grade students stay on track and miss school less often — related
• Average daily attendance and truancy metrics mask chronic absence, which reveals individual students missing 10% of school for any reason — related
• Absences remained as strongly related to test scores and GPAs in post-pandemic years as pre-pandemic years — related
• Chronic absence among students in foster care peaked after the pandemic, with nearly half chronically absent in 2021–22 — related
• Students in foster care are more than twice as likely to be chronically absent and more than four times as likely to be suspended as non-foster students — related
• Schools varied considerably in how much their absence rates increased after the pandemic, with some showing little or no change — related
• In Lynwood Unified, chronic absence fell from 37.1% to 24.5% and average daily attendance rose from 87.4% to 91.5% during the first two years of districtwide community schools implementation. — related