Chronic absenteeism has nearly doubled nationally since the pandemic, and progress has stalled even among students whose schooling was not directly disrupted. The cost is steep and cumulative: Every additional absence is tied to lower achievement, and persistent absence erodes instructional time and school culture for all students, not only those who miss class.
Yet schools serving similar students in similar neighborhoods often post markedly different attendance rates—strong evidence that what schools do matters. This brief argues that the relationships students experience and the social and emotional skills those relationships build are among the most powerful, controllable levers schools have, because they address several root causes of absenteeism—disengagement, weak belonging, and a sense of academic failure—at once.
Learn more about CASEL’s work on attendance and SEL.
