Chronic absenteeism has been a challenge post-pandemic in D.C. and across the nation. In D.C., chronic absenteeism rose from 29 percent in school year 2018-19 to 48 percent in school year 2021-22 when students returned to in-person learning, and then improved to 44 percent in school year 2022-23 (remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels).
In school year 2023-24, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is publishing midyear reports on attendance in kindergarten through grade 12 for the first time. A 2023-24 Mid-Year Attendance Brief showed that chronic absenteeism between July and November decreased by 6 percentage points between 2022 and 2023, especially in kindergarten through grade 8.[1] Recently released data at the school level show that these improvements to chronic absenteeism are happening at the majority of schools: out of 229 schools with data for both years, 85 percent experienced a decrease of at least 1 percentage point, and 66 percent experienced a decrease of at least 5 percentage points. Many of the schools with the largest decreases (larger than 20 percentage points) had chronic absenteeism rates between 40 and 60 percent in school year 2022-23, whereas fewer schools with very high chronic absenteeism had big swings.
Forthcoming data from OSSE will show attendance as of March 2024 and over the full school year.
[1] Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). 2024. “2023-24 School Year Attendance Reporting.” OSSE. Retrieved from https://osse.dc.gov/node/1720676