District Spotlight
Chester-Upland: Never Below 50% Chronic Absence
Chester-Upland SD in Delaware County has never recorded a chronic absence rate below 50% in seven years of data, the only multi-school district in PA with that distinction.
Pennsylvania
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Pennsylvania, grounded in Pennsylvania Department of Education data.
Pittsburgh's Chronic Absence Rate Falls to 33% From a 42% Peak as Text Reminders Reach 60% of At-Risk Families
Pittsburgh SD's chronic absence rate has come down from its 42% pandemic peak to 33%, with text-message reminders improving attendance for 60% of at-risk students.
PA English Learners Close the Chronic Absence Gap
English learner students are the only group in Pennsylvania whose chronic absence gap has fully closed, matching the statewide rate at 20.4%.
York City's 27-Point Recovery From 63% Chronic Absence
York City SD dropped from 63.4% chronic absence to 36.8% in two years, the second-largest improvement in Pennsylvania. The recovery crossed every subgroup.
PA's Black-White Absence Gap Widened 3.7 Points Since COVID
The Black-white chronic absence gap in Pennsylvania grew from 8.2 to 11.9 percentage points. English learners are the only group that closed their gap.
More Coverage
School Choice
PA Cyber Charters: Absence Rising While Traditional Schools Improve
Pennsylvania's cyber charter schools saw chronic absence rise to 30% even as traditional schools improved to 20%. New state reforms add oversight.
Covid Impact
Only 12% of PA Districts Have Recovered to Pre-COVID Attendance
Of 733 Pennsylvania school districts, just 92 have returned to pre-pandemic chronic absence levels. 147 schools still have majority-absent student bodies.
District Spotlight
Coatesville's 37-Point Attendance Turnaround
Coatesville Area SD went from 50% chronic absence to 13% in three years, the largest such improvement among traditional Pennsylvania districts.
Equity
Philadelphia's Attendance Equity Gap Tripled Since COVID
42% of Black students in Philadelphia are chronically absent, compared to 27% of white students. The gap has tripled since pre-COVID.
Absence
One in Five PA Students Chronically Absent as Recovery Stalls
Pennsylvania's chronic absenteeism rate remains at 20.4%, still 6 percentage points above pre-COVID levels. Recovery is decelerating.
