Nationwide problems, local solutions

Hedy Chang of Attendance Works, Denise Forte of EdTrust, and Nat Malkus of the American Enterprise Institute declared in The Hill in August that chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of the school year) is “the most important issue facing schools today.” Especially notable about this declaration is that the writers represent different poles on the ideological spectrum in education. Although often in disagreement about the contentious issues in our polarized times, on this issue, they agree.

The Return to Learn Tracker (www.returntolearntracker.net) offers visual representations of the problem, showing that chronic absenteeism surged everywhere during the pandemic. The recovery in the intervening years has been much slower than that initial surge. We have a long way to go to get attendance back to its pre-pandemic levels. And the pre-pandemic levels were enough of a problem that Kappan made it the October 2016 issue theme. If it was important then, it’s urgent now. And it exists across states, across demographics, across school sizes, across approaches to pandemic school closures.

As much as we might want an answer that will work for everyone, everywhere, all at once, across-the-board problems may not respond to across-the-board solutions. As Thomas Dee explains in this issue, researchers have not yet landed on solutions that work everywhere. The reasons for the crisis may be too multifaceted and complex for a single solution. It’s up to schools to look for their own solutions, which begins with understanding the problem.