Examining Chronic Absence through a Student Health Lens

During the 2015–16 school year, about one in seven students was chronically absent, missing at least 10 percent of school days. An early warning sign of academic risk and school dropout, chronic absence predicts school failure more reliably than test scores. To understand the drivers of chronic absence, state boards of education should examine data on student health in their state. This policy update suggests questions for state boards to ask and actions they can take to address chronic absence.