How to check your school's attendance data
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A new state dashboard lets the public more closely track school attendance rates, but families in some districts — including Columbus, Bexley, Dublin and Hilliard — will have to wait a little longer to try it out.
Why it matters: Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during the pandemic. Though the situation has improved slightly, it remains one of the U.S. education system's biggest challenges.
Threat level: Students who routinely miss school struggle more academically, potentially impacting their ability to thrive later in life.
- Frequent absences also often signal underlying challenges with kids' overall well-being.
Chronic absence is defined as missing at least 10% of instructional time for any reason, including illness, or about 18 days in a typical school year.
Catch up quick: To increase awareness, the state launched an interactive dashboard this month tracking districts' weekly chronic absence rates during the current school year.
- Clicking a district name drills down to building and grade levels.
- The tool also details the severity of absences, from "at risk" (missing 5-10% of days) to "severe" (over 20%).
- Previously, the state only posted data annually with school report cards.
Yes, but: The new system is optional, and about a fourth of districts are still working to sync up their data, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce director Stephen Dackin told reporters at the rollout.
- That includes half of the large urban districts, which are most likely to struggle with the issue: Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo.
Zoom in: Columbus is on track for a chronic absenteeism rate of 49.6% this school year, according to a presentation at Tuesday's school board meeting.
- That's notable progress from a 65% rate in 2021-22.
What they're saying: Local officials tell Axios they plan on participating and it's mostly a technical matter, as districts use a variety of systems to log data.
- Columbus' data should be showing by mid-May, spokesperson Mike Brown estimates.
The other side: Data may help raise awareness and track trends, but more funding is also needed to address absenteeism's root causes, Ohio Education Association president Jeff Wensing told WCMH-TV.
What's next: Officials will explain how to use the new tool at a virtual town hall at noon Thursday and "explore ways anyone can support their school community in reducing chronic absence."