The Serious Impacts of Missing Too Much School

Over 7 million students in the U.S. miss nearly a month of school each year due to chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10 percent or more of school days for any reason. The effects of excessive absences on children’s education can be severe. This comprehensive guide examines what happens when kids miss too much school and provides strategies for getting attendance back on track.

The Academic Toll of Frequent Absences

Multiple studies have demonstrated that students who miss more than 10 to 15 days per school year show significant academic detriment. According to a Johns Hopkins University analysis, chronically absent students‘ grades can plummet by over a full letter grade.

In the short term, absences result in:

• Falling behind due to missing lessons and activities
• Difficulty completing and turning in assignments
• Lower assessment scores and course grades

Over years of academic disruption, the impacts compound:

• Poor literacy and math skill development
• Limited critical thinking abilities
• Increased high school dropout rates
• Lower college attendance and completion

The statistics clearly demonstrate the crisis level of chronic absenteeism nationally:

Excessive school absences severely disrupt academic trajectories, drastically limiting opportunities and earning potential later in life. Clearly national policy changes are urgently needed to address this crisis.

Social, Emotional and Physical Impacts

In addition to hindering achievement, missing too much school inflicts damage in other ways by:

• Isolating children from their peers which can lead to:
  • Difficulty making and maintaining healthy friendships
  • Struggles developing positive social skills
• Lowering student self-esteem and increasing anxiety disorders
  • Causing shame, panic, school avoidance
  • Potential long-term mental health issues
• Exacerbating chronic health conditions
  • Hindering access to school-based treatments and therapies
  • Progressing conditions due to lack of disease state management at school

Research also clearly links absenteeism with increased risk factors for short and long-term negative consequences:

Clearly, excessive school absences result in substantial academic, physical, and mental health impacts, contributing to profound personal struggles and societal costs.

Why Students Miss School

Students miss too much school for a variety of reasons including:

• Poverty & Instability: Homelessness, housing insecurity, lack of healthcare access, and hunger disproportionately affect attendance.
• Adversity & Trauma: Exposure to violence, abuse, discrimination, and other traumas cause toxic stress making school engagement difficult.
• Learning Disabilities: Over 40% of chronically absent students have diagnosed or suspected disabilities often exacerbated by lack of accommodations and supports.
• Lack of Transportation: Unreliable public transit, shortage of family vehicles, prohibitive costs, and long distances prevent students from physically getting to school.
• School Climate Issues: Bullying, ineffective discipline policies, and poor relationships with peers or teachers cause anxiety and disengagement.

While reasons for missing school are complex and multi-faceted, research shows adverse childhood experiences (ACES) are major drivers of absenteeism. The more adversity and trauma students face, the higher their risk of chronic absence. Effectively addressing this crisis requires recognizing and responding appropriately to the impacts of systemic inequality and hardship many families face.

State and District Reform Efforts

In response to increasing scrutiny, education agencies are expanding initiatives aimed at tackling excessive absences including:

• Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS): Comprehensive whole-school frameworks providing prevention, early intervention, and intensive services for at-risk students. MTSS applies public health principles by focusing resources where data shows significant need.
• Community school models: Schools partner with health centers, social workers, counselors and community organizations to connect students and families to integrated supports meeting needs like healthcare, food, housing, transportation, and adult education classes.
• State policy changes: Over 15 states now include chronic absence data in school report cards. Some states require identifying chronically absent students early, reporting prevalence by student subgroups, and establishing absence intervention teams.

Though positive strides are being made, substantial policy improvements are still required at federal, state and local levels to equitably uphold every student’s right to education.

“The bottom line is we will not close persistent opportunity and achievement gaps unless we close the gaps in attendance first,” stated Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works.

School and District Highlights

Across the country districts are rolling out innovative initiatives to curb absenteeism like:

• NYC Mayor’s Office: Launched Give Our Kids a Chance attendance campaign including $20M investment in school-based programs plus intensive “Show Up Stand Up” program providing mentors to chronically absent elementary school students
• Rochester City School District: Adopted Rochester Attendance Partnership engaging government agencies, youth programs, health providers, transit authorities, businesses, advocacy groups and faith communities to expand resources for students and families to get to school every day.
• San Antonio ISD: Initiated PREVEN-T Project training campus attendance teams to do student risk review, utilize data systems to identify needs early, make personalized outreach to high risk students, and provide access to mental health and social services resulting in decreased absences district-wide.

Call to Action

The absenteeism crisis in our education system is alarming and without aggressive intervention, thousands of vulnerable children each year will continue falling through the cracks.

*"Unless we prioritize addressing chronic early absence, we will saddle thousands of low-income children with weak literacy skills and set them up for frustrating school experiences, frequent grade repetition, potential dropout, and lifelong economic hardship,” stated attorney and education advocate Abby Quirk.**

We must demand state and national leaders invest in evidenced-based systemic solutions centered on equity and meeting every student‘s needs.

Our children deserve no less than access to an excellent and supportive education setting them up for a bright future.

The stakes could not be higher. Excessive absences drastically undermine learning, opportunity, and wellness. By working urgently, courageously and collaboratively to confront the chronic absence crisis, we can transform school experiences and outcomes for students most vulnerable.

Let us stand up and act now so that one day every single student has the consistent opportunity to show up and succeed.

Additional Resources:

• Attendance Works
• Adolescent Health Project on Chronic Absenteeism
• Future Ed Chronic Absenteeism Explainer