Chronic absenteeism rises in Tennessee

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) says the impact COVID-19 has had on children in Tennessee doesn’t end with declining test scores.OREA released an updated report Thursday that found rising chronic absenteeism has been one of the biggest challenges since Tennessee schools re-opened post-lockdown.  A student is chronically absent if he or she misses 10 percent or more of instructional days.“Chronic absenteeism is at the forefront of current national conversations about student attendance. According to the U.S. Department of Education, research suggests that chronic absenteeism puts students at risk for numerous negative long-term outcomes such as reduced literacy and increased dropout rates,” wrote Legislative Research Analyst Dana Spoonmore.In 2021, OREA released an analysis of student attendance rates that found the state chronic absenteeism rate had remained steady since 2018.Initially, most Tennessee schools were shown to have modest to significant chronic absenteeism, and economically disadvantaged students had a higher percentage of absenteeism compared to other students. Additionally, Black students also had higher rates than other racial demographics in that 2021 OREA report.The updated OREA report found the pandemic’s effect on chronic absenteeism has been significant.Tennessee’s chronic absenteeism rate rose by seven percent between 2019 and 2022.  Across the state 133 Tennessee districts saw increases during this time.Perry County’s school district saw the highest increase, going from just under 10 percent in the prior OREA report to 42 percent in the latest.  School districts in Haywood, DeKalb, Tipton, Dickson, and Grainger counties also reported large increases.Some Tennessee school districts reported a decrease in chronic absenteeism, including Blount County where chronic absenteeism dropped 7 percent between the two studies.When Tennessee schools closed their doors in March 2020, new COVID-19 guidelines, quarantine requirements, and virtual and hybrid schedules combined to impact students in a variety of ways.The OREA report did not provide specific data on which of these factors impacted chronic absenteeism the most, though it did acknowledge these factors impacted the ability to gather data for the 2020/2021 school year. Attendance data for that year is considered “unreliable” according to the report.The prior 2021 OREA report on chronic absenteeism found illness to be the primary factor for both younger students and those of high school age.In that report, attendance supervisors and principals rated physical illness and notes from doctors as the top two contributors to chronic absenteeism followed by notes from parents and parent issues.Respondents from high schools also listed physical illness and notes from doctors as the top two contributing factors followed by a student’s age.Almost 63 percent of respondents indicated that students who are 18 and over, and therefore no longer subject to compulsory education laws, was a common factor in the chronic absenteeism.