New Report on National Trends in Student Absenteeism

Earlier this month, State Superintendent of Education Tom Torlakson announced that the state witnessed record high graduation rates for the 2014-2015 school year--a trend that is projected to continue for the class of 2016.

On the heels of that groundbreaking achievement, however, are new findings from the Federal Department of Education exposing the prevalence of a problematic barrier to student success: attendance. In a report released in May, the Department of Education found that over 6 million students (13.1%) were chronically absent for the 2013-2014 school year--meaning that they missed more than 15 days of school in that year. Moreover, the highest rate of these absences occur in high school and among students of minority background.

Breakdown of Student subgroups

Nationwide Findings

How do these findings mirror San Diego County? Although the last report by San Diego Unified on this subject was released in 2008, its findings mirrored current national trends. Released nearly a decade ago, it showed some parts of the county reached 25% and higher for chronic absenteeism in district high schools:

San Diego County Rates of Chronic Absenteeism, 2008.

While current figures for San Diego county are unavailable, the fact that these trends existed in 2008 is still striking. 

The full Federal Department of Education report can be viewed here:

Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation's Schools

Question(s) to Consider:

• What causes students in our San Diego communities to be chronically absent? What steps can we take to minimize this trend?