Student attendance in Colorado continued to recover from the sharp rise in chronic absenteeism following the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state remained below the attendance trendline compared to 2019.   

Before the pandemic, attendance was higher and absenteeism was lower than the most recent figures.

The new figures from the Colorado Department of Education showed that student attendance increased by 0.7 percentage points — up to 91.5% — while chronic absenteeism decreased by 3.4 percentage points to 27.7% in 2023-24.

That drop represented roughly 28,000 fewer students who were chronically absent, which meant they had “more consistent engagement in learning,” the state agency said. 

Both figures reflected trends from the previous school year, in which attendance rose and absenteeism decreased. Officials recorded the state-high rate of chronic absenteeism at 35.5% during the 2021-22 school year. 

“We know that our educators and school leaders are working urgently to keep students engaged and feeling connected to their school communities, and we see that effort reflected in attendance and chronic absentee rates,” Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said in a statement. 

“If students aren’t in school, we know they won’t have access to the opportunities designed to help them continue learning,” she said. 

Chron­ic absen­teeism is usually defined as stu­dents miss­ing at least 10% of the school year. Across the nation, about one out of four students were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year.

Despite the positive trends, statewide attendance has yet to reach pre-Covid trendlines. In 2019-20, the state average for attendance stood at 92.8% and the average chronic absentee rate was 22.6%.

During the pandemic, officials shut down schools and transitioned to remote learning, while the state government restricted gatherings and closed some businesses, such as bars, gyms and restaurants, in addition to other mandates. 

This year, over 241,000 of the state’s 902,854 students — roughly one in four — were chronically absent. 

The problem is more pronounced for higher grades: More than 30% of students in the eighth, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades were chronically absent. Nearly 30% of kindergarteners and ninth graders were also chronically absent.

The trend of missing significant school time coincided with declining test scores during the same years, contributing to substantial learning losses and greater high school dropout rates.

“And we have found that even missing a couple of days here and there can cause problems,” Córdova said. “In the early grades, multiple absences can cause students to fall behind on their reading skills. And, in fact, 83% of chronically absent kids are not reading on grade-level by third grade.”

Beyond pandemic-related factors, others contributors to chronic absenteeism included homelessness, transportation challenges, disengagement and personal and family illnesses.

“So, some of those we have seen increase overtime even if they’re not necessarily new ones,” said Johann Liljengren, the agency’s director of dropout prevention and student reengagement.

State data revealed rates of chronic absenteeism continuing to decline and attendance rising for homeless students, immigrants, special needs and multilingual students. These students groups persistently recorded higher rates of chronic absenteeism than their peers. 

The data showed two groups — American Indian/Alaska Native at 44.4% and Hawaiian Pacific Islander at 50.1% — with the highest rates. They were also the smallest groups of students, which meant small movements can mean bigger shifts. 

Meanwhile, Black/African American and Hispanic students recorded rates above the state average at 33.2% and 37.1%, respectively.

White students, Asian students, and students with two or more races recorded rates below the average at 20.9%, 17.0% and 26.6%, respectively, the data show. 

Nearly 70% of Colorado’s districts improved their attendance rates last year.

The districts with the highest reported rates of chronic absenteeism included Adams County 14 (48.9%), Centennial R-1 (53.5%), Hanover 28 (46.6 %) and Ouray R-1 (60.5%).

The Centennial Board of Cooperative Educational Services reported the highest rate of chronic absenteeism at 80.8%.

Earlier this week, the state education department also released its statewide testing results that revealed promising signs of recovery, though with some caveats. 

State testing a mixed bag with slight gains in elementary, big drops in high school math

To help promote attendance in school and push for positive trajectories, the CDE announced the “Every School Day Matters” campaign. The goal, the agency said, is to support students, families and educators in reducing chronic absenteeism to 17.8% by the 2026-27 school year. 

The online portal will include training and resources for educators and school leaders, communications tools for districts and an attendance tracking calendar in English and Spanish for families.

“What data tells us, what the research has found and what common sense show is that you can’t grow academically if you’re not in school,” Córdova said.

The campaign’s resources along with complete attendance data can be found at the CDE’s website.