More than a third of Multnomah Countystudents were chronically absent during the last school year, the Oregon Journalism Project reported.
Why it matters: Chronic absenteeism — defined as missing 10% of school days, excused or not — is seen as a crucial barrier to student success.
By the numbers: Just 61.8% of students in the county met that threshold last year, below the statewide average of 64.5% and the 78% national average.
Malheur County saw the highest attendance rate (83.5%) while Wheeler County (41.1%) had the lowest.
Yes, but: Statewide, 7,000 more students regularly attended classes last year, a bump of 1.3% over the previous year.
What's next: Oregon's new school accountability system will require districts to set targets for attendance, graduation and standardized-test performance.
Districts that repeatedly miss those targets could eventually face greater state intervention.
