Chronic school absenteeism is down and student performance on math and science assessments is up, according to data released today by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE).
“For educators and our students, the upward trends in school attendance and academic performance in Connecticut are cause for optimism,” says CEA President Kate Dias, although she cautions that absenteeism is still a significant problem across the state.
“We are still well above pre-pandemic levels when it comes to chronic absenteeism,” she notes. “In fact, CEA’s Back-to-School Survey, released last week, found that 70% of educators identify student absenteeism as an ongoing—and in some cases—intensifying problem. There is clearly more work to be done.”
CSDE data for 2023-2024 shows overall declines in chronic absenteeism rates by 2.3 percentage points, from 20 percent to 17.7 percent, representing 11,674 fewer students missing at least 10 percent of school days. More than 80 percent of districts showed a decline in their chronic absenteeism rate from school year 2022-2023 to 2023-2024, and improved attendance was recorded among all student groups, with the greatest gains in kindergarten and the early grades.
Also improved for the second consecutive year was overall student mathematics and science performance as measured by standardized tests. Performance on standardized English language arts assessments remained stable, with improvements in some grades.
“This, too, is encouraging, although standardized tests are not our most reliable indicators of student learning,” Dias says. “Educators understand that standardized assessments do not paint a complete or accurate picture of their students and that overtesting results in a narrowing of curriculum and threatens the quality of education our students deserve.”
