Student-Level Attendance Patterns Across Three Post-Pandemic Years

Abstract

We examine student attendance patterns in North Carolina across three post-pandemic years (2021–22 to 2023–24) compared to three pre-pandemic years (2016–17 to 2018–19). We find that the percentage of students who were chronically absent at least once over the 3-year period increased from 17% pre-pandemic to 38% post-pandemic, while the percentage who were chronically absent in all 3 years quadrupled from 2.4% to 9.6%. Persistent chronic absence rates are higher for Black and Hispanic than for White students and for students in high-poverty schools. Results show that while chronic absenteeism has been widespread post-pandemic, some students are experiencing especially deep and persistent levels of absenteeism. These students may face deeper underlying challenges to attendance and require more intensive intervention to recover.