Public school students who miss ≥15 days of school in an academic year (%). Note: this metric is at the city (not school district) level.

<sdt id="-298686533" sdttag="goog_rdk_1">Reducing chronic </sdt>absenteeism <sdt id="-1943525333" sdttag="goog_rdk_3">can help ensure </sdt><sdt id="-681200395" sdttag="goog_rdk_5">better educational and health outcomes for all </sdt>children.1<sdt id="-439836170" sdttag="goog_rdk_7">A</sdt>s early as elementary school, <sdt id="436184750" sdttag="goog_rdk_9">chronic absenteeism </sdt>increases <sdt id="-227377345" sdttag="goog_rdk_11">children’s </sdt>risk of falling behind academically and socially, which can <sdt id="443577891" sdttag="goog_rdk_13">affect </sdt>test scores and graduation rates.2,3 Children who are frequently absent in pre-K, kindergarten, or first grade are less likely to read at grade level by third grade, and older students who are frequently absent are at greater risk for substance use, violence, and delinquency.1,2 Absenteeism may reflect poor student health, student mental illness, and financial or emotional problems at home.1,3 However, structural factors <sdt id="1262885292" sdttag="goog_rdk_17"> that disproportionately affect Black and Brown children, </sdt>such as poverty, segregation, lack of transportation, unpredictable work schedules, caring for a family member, and interactions with the justice system<sdt id="830807154" sdttag="goog_rdk_20">, may also play a role in absenteeism. </sdt>These problems become <sdt id="-1103101254" sdttag="goog_rdk_29">worse </sdt>when schools respond to absenteeism using school suspensions and punitive justice-system tools, which further perpetuate racial inequities. Partnering with families and implementing non-punitive, prevention-focused interventions can improve daily school attendance and ensure that students receive the support they need to<sdt id="1287856643" sdttag="goog_rdk_31"></sdt> thrive.3

This metric is an estimate of the percent of public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade who miss 15 or more school days in an academic year. All schools located within the city are included in the estimate. Thus, this is a city-level, not a school district-level, estimate.  All public schools, except special education schools and schools that taught virtually (remotely) for at least one year starting with the 2010-2011 school year, are included in the calculation.

Note: In November 2021 the City Health Dashboard revised this metric, including changing the school inclusion criteria. While the new metric excludes special education and virtual schools, the earlier version included all school types. We made this change to match the school inclusion criteria of our third-grade reading proficiency metric, so that the two education metrics are more comparable. This decision was made based on expert consultation with the Stanford Education Data Archive. Briefly, the exclusion of these two types of schools better represents students who live in cities as most special education and virtual schools draw students from a wider geographic area. For more information, please refer to <a href="https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:db586ns4974/seda_documentation_4.1.pdf">Stanford Education Data Archive Technical Documentation</a>.

Check out <a href="/story/836">our blog</a> for more information!

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 475px;">Strengths of Metric</td>
			<td style="width: 589px;">Limitations of Metric</td>
		</tr><tr><td>
			<ul><li>Absenteeism measures all absences, whether excused or unexcused, because both types can affect academic achievement.</li>
				<li>This metric is available broken down by race and ethnicity, which can help target resources and interventions for groups that historically have been underrepresented. </li>
			</ul></td>
			<td>
			<ul><li>Absenteeism has not been measured consistently across the country, so some cities may use different definitions than presented here.4</li>
				<li>Even though absences are counted in the same way for all demographic groups, some will be disproportionately <sdt id="-2071327960" sdttag="goog_rdk_82">affected </sdt>by those absences<sdt id="-2131152476" sdttag="goog_rdk_84">,</sdt> and we cannot capture that in this metric.</li>
				<li>Race and ethnicity data are often collected using discrete options that may not account for all or multiple identities, leading to undercounting of those who are more likely to select “other<sdt id="-1126856061" sdttag="goog_rdk_85">.</sdt>”<sdtpr></sdtpr><sdt id="295338665" sdttag="goog_rdk_86" showingplchdr="t">   </sdt><sdt sdttag="goog_rdk_86" showingplchdr="t">  </sdt></li>
			</ul></td>
		</tr></tbody></table>

Absenteeism is calculated by the following formula:
<img alt="absenteeism formula" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e1b65075-54f2-4253-ad76-f9b7da7a3e87" src="https://content.cityhealthdashboard.com/drupal/sites/default/files/inline-images/Absenteeism.PNG" class="align-center" width="764" height="84" loading="lazy" />For more information on the calculation, please refer to the <a href="/technical-documentation" target="_blank">City Health Dashboard Technical Document</a>.

Estimates for this metric are from <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-2015-16.html" target="_blank">Civil Rights Data Collection</a> and EDFacts

<ol><li>U.S. Department of Education. Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation's Schools: An Unprecedented Look at a Hidden Educational Crisis.  <a href="https://ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html">https://ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html</a>. Accessed January 12, 2018.</li>
	<li>McCluskey CP, Bynum TS, Patchin JW. Reducing Chronic Absenteeism: an Assessment of an Early Truancy Initiative. NCCD news. 2004;50:214-234.</li>
	<li>Balfanz R, Byrnes V. The importance of being in school: A report on absenteeism in the nation's public schools. The Education Digest. 2012;78(2):4.</li>
	<li>Balfanz R, Byrnes V. The Importance of Being In School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Organization of Schools 2012.</li>
</ol>Last updated: July 26, 2023

Absenteeism

Public school students who miss ≥15 days of school in an academic year (%). Note: this metric is at the city (not school district) level.

Why do we measure absenteeism?

How do we measure absenteeism?

Strengths and Limitations

Calculation

Data Source

References