Despite a decline from the previous year, rates of chronic absenteeism for Wisconsin’s students – defined as missing more than one in ten school days for any reason – remained at historically high levels in 2023 for children of every race, grade level, and socioeconomic status. District leaders point to many causes, including lasting impacts of the pandemic. Some have made improvements through strong communication campaigns and concerted, districtwide efforts.
In the 2022-23 school year (referred to in this brief as 2023), 19.5% of Wisconsin’s K-12 public school district and charter students were chronically absent. While this number represents a welcome decline from the record number of students who were chronically absent in the prior school year, it is still dramatically higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Last year, we delved into the data on chronic absenteeism in Wisconsin and found that, in 2021, chronic absenteeism rose alarmingly and was highest for districts with large shares of students of color and students from low-income households. Since that time, two more years of data have been published, showing rates even higher than in 2021. Here, we analyze these latest data in an effort to plumb not only the problem but also potential causes and solutions.
The data we use come from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), which defines chronic absenteeism as missing at least 10% of possible attendance days, including excused absences. In most school districts, this amounts to a student missing 18 or more days of school in a year.
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Abbey Machtig Summary.