Experiences and Opportunities in Education

Days Absent from School

Students taking the NAEP mathematics assessment between January and March of 2024 were asked: How many days were you absent from school in the last month? Below are the overall student responses to this question, as well as the percentages of the combined responses for “3 or more days” (considered “high absenteeism”) across selected student groups and jurisdictions that participated in the NAEP state assessment and Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA). Read more about the issue of chronic absenteeism and explore trend data related to this variable.

Thirty percent of fourth-graders reported high absenteeism

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Figure Percentage of fourth-grade students in NAEP mathematics by the reported number of days they were absent from school in the previous month: 2024
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
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Results by Student Group

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A larger percentage of lower-performing fourth-graders reported high absenteeism than their higher-performing peers

Figure Percentage of fourth-grade students in NAEP mathematics who reported they were absent from school 3 or more days in the previous month, by selected student group: 2024
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¹ Higher-performing students are those who scored at or above the 75th percentile and lower-performing students are those who scored below the 25th percentile.
*Significantly different (p < .05) from the selected category.

Results by State

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Across states/jurisdictions, the percentages of fourth-grade public school students reporting high absenteeism ranged from 26 percent to 40 percent

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Figure Percentage of fourth-grade students in NAEP mathematics who reported they were absent from school 3 or more days in the previous month, by state/jurisdiction: 2024
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Compared to the nation (public), number of states/jurisdictions with a percentage that was:
NOTE: NP = Nation (public). DS = Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), a federally operated nonpublic school system responsible for educating children of military families. See more about DoDEA.

Results by District

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Across participating districts, the percentages of fourth-grade public school students reporting high absenteeism ranged from 26 percent to 46 percent

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Figure Percentage of fourth-grade students in NAEP mathematics who reported they were absent from school 3 or more days in the previous month, by district/jurisdiction: 2024
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Percentage for district/jurisdiction
Percentage for the state where the district is located
NOTE: NP = Nation (public). DCPS = District of Columbia Public Schools. Large city includes public school students from all cities in the nation with populations of 250,000 or more including the participating districts.