The sharp rise in chronic student absenteeism in the wake of the pandemic has attracted national headlines, and rightly so. But research I’ve done with my colleagues at Teach For America’s Reinvention Lab suggests that the absenteeism problem is more than a matter of who’s in school and who isn’t.
Interviews and design workshops we have conducted with more than 120 adults and young people nationwide about where and how students are learning revealed new insights into student absenteeism.
Many students are present in school, we learned, but are mentally disengaged. They’re showing up every day, but not finding their classroom experiences interesting or relevant. Conversely, there are absentees who are actively engaged in work- or community-based learning. They’re doing things they find meaningful and educational. Together, these groups comprise what my colleagues Michelle Jia, Goutham Marimuthu and I call the New Absenteeism, and it represents a growing disconnect between young people and schools.
The New Absenteeism happens when schools allow students to drift through their education without feeling connected or inspired and when it fails to validate learning that happens outside traditional classrooms.
Current methods of tracking chronic absenteeism prioritize seat time over meaningful student engagement, often overlooking both students forging alternative learning pathways and those quietly disengaging. While schools assess learning through tests and coursework, these checks don’t always capture real-world skills, personal growth, or non-traditional learning experiences that many students find valuable. Without a broader lens, educators risk missing critical signs of both engagement and detachment.
Five distinct profiles of school attendance and engagement emerged from our research:
Engaged. Young people who are consistently present and genuinely invested in their education, demonstrating both the desire and ability to engage in school.
Systemically Blocked. The students most people imagine when they hear the term “chronically absent.” They value education but face significant systemic barriers—from housing instability to family responsibilities—that prevent their regular attendance despite their desire to be in school. Most current absenteeism solutions focus on these students.
Real-life Learners. Students who are not physically in school but are learning outside the classroom. Their fundamental question to the education system is: “Can you acknowledge what I am learning while away from school and give me credit for it?” The key is to reward valuable learning happening outside of school.
Checked Out. Students who are physically present but mentally disengaged. School isn’t as central to their lives as it may have been to previous generations. Their fundamental question to the system is: “Can you help me spark meaningful personal growth?” The key is to help young people drive their own engagement.
In Crisis. Young people facing profound personal crises—from severe trauma to extreme poverty and other challenges—that have depleted their capacity to manage even basic life functions. They tend to have deep distrust of institutions, resulting in a greatly diminished belief in school as a path to success in life. They require intensive support that extends far beyond conventional education interventions.
Our research revealed that current responses to absenteeism tend to focus on Systemically Blocked students at the expense of the Real-life Learner, Checked Out, and In Crisis categories. Traditional attendance interventions assume students are motivated to be in school. But an increasing number of young people are deeply disengaged, skeptical of school’s value. The real challenge isn’t in getting them into classrooms but helping them find and create meaning wherever they may be.
Addressing the New Absenteeism requires coordinated action involving policymakers, school administrators, educators, and families. There are many ways stakeholders can respond to the evolving absenteeism landscape.
Policymakers
- Implement regular mental health screenings to support students before they reach an “In Crisis” state.
- Shift from attendance-based funding to models that reward meaningful student engagement, recognizing that where learning happens matters less than how effectively it happens—much like the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s push to eliminate the Carnegie Unit in favor of competency-based learning.
- Create flexibility in how students can secure credit, as Ohio’s “Credit Flexibility” model does.
- Incentivize partnerships between schools and local businesses, arts agencies and other community organizations to create meaningful mentorships, internships and real-world learning opportunities.
Teachers and School Administrators
- Map your student population against the New Absenteeism profiles and develop targeted intervention strategies for each, recognizing that what works for one group may be ineffective—or even counterproductive—for another.
- Establish student advisory boards that give agency to young people to help design learning spaces that are meaningful to them. Use student surveys in the design process. Form partnerships with local businesses and organizations (such as creative and performance spaces, botanical gardens, science and art centers) to create meaningful mentorships, internships and real-world learning opportunities.
Families
- Explore with your child what sparks their learning (museums, new media, hands-on creation, etc.). Engage with schools about your child’s unique needs and challenges.
- Consider which New Absenteeism profile best describes your own child and advocate for educational flexibility that acknowledges different learning sources, styles and life circumstances. Share these insights with other families and work together to create support systems that extend beyond individual households.
The New Absenteeism presents a challenge, but also an opportunity. As young people disconnect from traditional education, they often illuminate new opportunities for learning and growth. Educators need to reimagine how they measure student engagement, rather than focusing solely on classroom attendance—meeting young people where their potential and curiosity leads them.
Colleen Keating-Crawford is a senior research and designer at Teach For America’s Reinvention Lab.