The rate of chronic students absenteeism in Massachusettspublic schools has decreased by almost five percentage points in the past year, according to state education officials.
Russell Johnston, the acting Commissioner of Education, provided data Tuesday to state Board of Education members at their regular monthly meeting.
"Let's keep this in mind," Johnston said, "24.5 [% of students] in March of 2023, to 19.6 [% of students] just this March."
More work needs to be done to reach pre-pandemic levels of about 13%, Johnston said.
The decrease represents almost 45,000 fewer students considered to be chronically absent. Johnston credited educators for getting more students back to school, helping raise awareness about the issue and working with families to engage students.
"We know that a lot of students have been absent because of continued worries about illness, mental health issues and then just a change in habits," Johnston said.
It's been effective to address all three challenges Johnston said.
The state's top education officials were reminded that in June, the board will hold an extra meeting to discussstudent data that looks at academic fallout from the pandemic.
