Chronic absenteeism: what it is and why it matters
A student is chronically absent after missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason, 18 days in a 180-day year. In the average U.S. public school, 26.5% of students were chronically absent in 2022-23, the latest school-level federal data, and the rate rises with the share of students from low-income families.
Written from EDFacts 2022-23 and NCES CCD 2024-25 · published · reviewed · editorial process
The definition
Chronic absenteeism counts every missed day: excused absences, unexcused absences and days out on suspension. The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 made it a common federal measure, and most states now use it in school accountability. It counts days of instruction lost, whatever the reason, which is why it catches students that average daily attendance hides.
Truancy is different: a legal term for unexcused absences, with a threshold and consequences set by each state. A student absent 25 days with a documented illness is chronically absent but not truant; a student with ten unexcused absences can be truant without reaching 10% of the year.
What the federal data shows
Source: EDFacts 2022-23, chronic absenteeism by school; schools open in 2024-25 with 50 or more students. The average is the mean of school rates, not a count of students.
Which schools are most affected
Rates rise with poverty. Schools where most students qualify for free meals had more than twice the chronic absenteeism of schools where few do, and high schools had more than elementary schools.
| Free-meal share | Schools | Chronically absent |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25% free meals | 13,280 | 15.1% |
| 25% to 49% | 21,899 | 22.1% |
| 50% to 74% | 17,216 | 29.8% |
| 75% or more | 17,347 | 35.5% |
| Level | Schools | Chronically absent |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary | 50,035 | 24.8% |
| Middle | 15,295 | 25.5% |
| High | 17,937 | 31.3% |
| Other or combined | 2,822 | 31.3% |
Source: EDFacts 2022-23 rates; free-meal share from the NCES CCD 2024-25 lunch file (schools reporting one); level from the 2024-25 directory. Mean of school rates in each group.
Why students miss school
Attendance researchers group the causes in three: barriers (illness and chronic conditions such as asthma, transportation that falls through, housing moves, caring for younger siblings), aversion (bullying, an unsafe or unwelcoming school, anxiety, learning difficulties that make school frustrating) and disengagement (a student who no longer sees the point, more common in middle and high school). Each calls for a different response: a bus route, a health plan, a counselor, a mentor.
On a school's PlainSchools record, the counselor ratio, discipline counts and free-meal share sit beside its absenteeism rate, which helps tell these apart.
Where your school's rate falls among schools of the same level
| Schools | Lowest quarter up to | Middle school | Highest quarter from | Highest tenth from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All schools (86,089) | 14.9% | 23.1% | 34.4% | 48.1% |
| Elementary (50,035) | 14.0% | 21.7% | 32.6% | 44.9% |
| Middle (15,295) | 15.1% | 22.8% | 33.0% | 44.6% |
| High (17,937) | 18.1% | 27.1% | 40.0% | 57.5% |
Source: EDFacts 2022-23 school rates; schools open in 2024-25 with 50 or more students, level from the 2024-25 directory.
So an elementary school with 14.0% of students chronically absent is among the lowest quarter of elementary schools, and one at 44.9% is among the highest tenth. 8.8% of schools had half or more of their students chronically absent.
Reading a school's record
- Find the rate and its year on the school's record ("Chronically absent, 2022-23").
- Compare it with schools of the same level in the table above, and with the state's figure on the state ranking.
- Read it with the free-meal share: schools serving more low-income families have higher rates on average, so the same rate means different things in different places.
- Ask the school for this year's rate and what it is doing about attendance; a falling rate matters more than a single year.
Using it to choose a school
Chronic absenteeism is one of the few measures available for every school, and it moves before grades do. A high rate is a question to ask, not a verdict: ask what drives it (transportation, health, a hard transition year) and what the school does about it. Pair it with the school's counselor ratio and discipline counts on the same record.
Where the numbers come from
States report each school's chronically absent students to the U.S. Department of Education through EDFacts; 2022-23 is the latest year loaded here. States collect attendance differently, so compare schools within a state more confidently than across states. Some states report few schools (see the coverage notes on the state ranking). For this year's rate, ask the school or read the state's report card.
Questions
What is chronic absenteeism and how is it different from truancy?
Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused, unexcused or suspended; in a 180-day year that is 18 days. Truancy is a legal term for unexcused absences, with thresholds set by each state. A student absent 25 days with a documented illness is chronically absent but not truant.How widespread is chronic absenteeism in U.S. schools?
In the average U.S. public school, 26.5% of students were chronically absent in 2022-23, and 33.4% of schools had 30% or more of their students chronically absent (EDFacts, 86,089 schools open in 2024-25 with 50 or more students).What causes chronic absenteeism?
Causes overlap: illness and health conditions, transportation, housing moves, caring for family members, bullying or an unsafe climate, and disengagement from school, especially in the older grades.Which schools have the highest rates?
Schools with more students from low-income families: the average school where 75% or more of students qualify for free meals had 35.5% chronically absent, against 15.1% where fewer than 25% qualify. High schools averaged 31.3%, elementary schools 24.8%.What is a good chronic absenteeism rate?
There is no official line. In 2022-23 the middle U.S. school had 23.1% of students chronically absent; a quarter of schools were at 14.9% or less and a quarter at 34.4% or more. Compare a school with others of its level: high schools run higher than elementary schools.Where can I check chronic absenteeism for a specific school?
Search the school by name on PlainSchools; its record shows the rate and the year. For the current year, ask the school or read the state's school report card.
Related
- Chronic absenteeism by state
And the schools with the highest rates
- The state study
EDFacts 2022-23
Sources
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts Chronic absenteeism by school · 2022-23