Using the latest data from the California Department of Education, a fact sheet recently released by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) examines trends in chronic absenteeism statewide through the 2024–25 school year.
According to researchers, while rates of chronic absence have continued to decrease since their peak in 2021–22, they remain alarmingly high, with only a slight decrease over the past year. Without rapid intervention, academic recovery since the onset of the pandemic will likely get more challenging.
“Continued levels of high and extreme chronic absence in California schools are a call to action for educators and leaders at all levels of the system to sustain and increase attention to student attendance and engagement,” according to the fact sheet. “While the numbers continue to move in the right direction overall, the slower rate of progress in 2024–25 over the previous two years reveals the need for a still more intentional data-informed approach to addressing barriers that keep students from showing up to class. Expanding investments in engaging and meaningful learning experiences, particularly for high school students and students living in poverty, will have both short- and long-term impacts on our state’s children, youth, families, and future residents.”
Researchers noted that when a significant proportion of students is often away from class, all students’ well-being and achievement can be affected. They identified eight key facts that indicate the urgent need for action and for ongoing attention to ensure opportunities to learn for all students.
Among these findings:
- Chronic absence remains far above pre-pandemic levels and the rate of decline is slowing. In 2022–23, there was a decrease of 5.1 percentage points in chronic absenteeism to a rate of 24.9 percent, followed by a 4.5 percentage-point decrease in 2023–24 to 20.4 percent. In 2024–25, chronic absence decreased only 1 percentage point.
- Nearly half of California schools have high or extreme levels of chronic absence. The data show that the percentage of schools with high (20-29 percent) and extreme (30 percent or more) levels reached 75 percent in 2021–22, which has since declined to 47 percent in 2024–25. “While this continued decrease is promising, the percentage of schools with high and extreme levels of chronic absence remains more than double the pre-pandemic rate,” the fact sheet stated.
- Chronic absence is most pervasive in the highest poverty schools, where its consequences are also most severe. As the proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) students in a school increases, so too do rates of chronic absence. While the most affluent schools have almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels, researchers found many of the highest poverty schools still have more than twice the pre-pandemic levels of high or extreme chronic absence. “Unfortunately, chronic absence can be especially harmful for SED students, who are more likely to face multiple systemic barriers to regular attendance and have fewer resources to make up for lost learning opportunities in the classroom. This makes reducing chronic absence among lower income students imperative,” according to the fact sheet.
- By count, the largest number of schools with high and extreme rates of chronic absenteeism served elementary students. By percentage, high and extreme chronic absence is more prevalent in secondary schools. In 2024–25, 2,350 California elementary schools had high and extreme rates of chronic absence — a particularly concerning finding given the potential long-term and costly consequences of young students falling behind academically. However, in 2024–25, 43 percent of middle schools, 54 percent of high schools and 79 percent of other schools (e.g. continuation high schools, county community schools, juvenile court schools, etc.) had high or extreme levels of chronic absence compared to 40 percent of elementary schools.
- Despite small decreases for most groups, chronic absence remains especially high among particular student groups. Groups with the highest rates include students who are involved in the foster care system, experiencing homelessness, students with disabilities and Native American, Black and Pacific Islander children. Every student group saw a decline chronic absenteeism between 2023–24 and 2024–25 except for youth in foster care, who saw an increase of 0.3 percentage points.
