Michigan still suffering from high chronic absenteeism after COVID-19 pandemic

Despite a slight decline in chronic absenteeism in the last school year, Michigan is still battling to bring more students back to classrooms since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our students need to attend school regularly to maximize their school experiences,” Michael Rice, state superintendent of education, told the Detroit Free Press.

“Despite our progress, far too many students are chronically absent. We need to work together to redouble our efforts and remove barriers to school attendance.”

Chronic absenteeism almost doubled in the Wolverine State, from 19.7% in 2018-19 to 38.5% in 2021-22, according to a tracker developed by the FutureEd think tank. 

It dropped to 30.8% in the 2022-23 school year, then to 29.5% in 2023-24 – still well above pre-pandemic levels. 

The numbers grow even more dismal for Detroit public schools, according to the Press. 

“According to the new data, the district’s chronic absenteeism rate declined from 66.1% in the 2022-23 school year to 65.8% in 2023-24, still far above 62.1% in 2018-19,” writes journalist Lily Altavena. 

Students missing 10% or more of the school year are defined as chronically absent. 

“Chronic absenteeism often signals that students are experiencing untreated health needs, transportation problems, mental health issues, or other significant challenges,” FutureEd explains. 

“When many students attend school irregularly, teachers can’t move through the curriculum at their usual pace, which hurts the academic progress of students who are attending regularly as well as absentees.” 

Michigan public schools have also drawn criticism for using a large portion of COVID-19 funds on employee wages and benefits, rather than initiatives addressing learning loss. 

“Despite spending $1.2 billion of COVID aid on personnel, staffing levels only increased by 3%,” notes Scott McClallen for The Center Square. “This suggests that much of this extra spending on employee compensation took the form of raises for existing employees rather than hiring new staff.” 

Overall, the state’s schools received $6 billion, with school districts serving the poorest students receiving the highest amounts – up to $50,000 per pupil, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. 

“It’s been four years since the pandemic began and Michigan students are still trying to catch up,” said Cassidy Syftestad Klutts, doctoral fellow at the University of Arkansas who authored the center’s report. 

“School districts have one school year left to spend the remaining $3.5 billion. It will be interesting to see how well they use these resources to overcome learning loss and stabilize the classroom.”