Chronic Absenteeism from Virtual Learning During During COVID-19

 

Full study

Question  What is the association between the use of virtual learning in kindergarten through grade 12 education during the 2020-2021 school year and chronic absenteeism?

Findings  In this cross-sectional study, data from 11 017 school districts from the 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 school years within a difference-in-difference framework show that districts with more virtual school days in 2020-2021 had higher rates of chronic absenteeism during the 2021-2022 school year. These higher rates are associated with results in districts with high poverty levels.

The dataset includes 11 017 school districts for 2 years and 22 034 observations. Chronic absenteeism rates increased by 13.5 percentage points, from a mean (SD) of 15.9% (8.1%) in the 2018-2019 school year to 29.4% (13.2%) in the 2021-2022 school year. Students whose schools had 100% virtual instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic had chronic absenteeism rates that were 6.9 percentage points (95% CI, 4.8-8.9 percentage points) higher than those that were 100% in person. Hybrid instruction was not associated with increased absenteeism. The association between virtual learning and chronic absenteeism varied by socioeconomic status, with the conditional correlation much larger for at-risk students; chronic absenteeism rates were 10.6 percentage points (95% CI, 7.2-14.1 percentage points) higher among students with 100% of days in virtual learning from districts in the top quintile of poverty rates compared with 100% in-persion districts.

Conclusions and Relevance  In this cross-sectional study, chronic absenteeism rates were substantially higher in school districts that used virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with in person. Understanding how to reduce chronic absenteeism and use virtual learning without potentially negative consequences are key policy questions moving forward.