CSDE reports improvements in student absence, math and science

According to the Connecticut State Department of Education’s (CSDE) statistics from the 2023-2024 school year, absentee rates have dropped a second year in a row , and math and science scores have continued to improve.

CSDE reports that chronic absenteeism, defined as when students miss over 10% of a given school year, has declined by 2.3% in 2023-24, with 17.7% of this year’s students being chronically absent compared to 20% of students last year. This 2.3% reduction made for 11,674 fewer students being chronically absent. Over 80% of school districts, 158 out of 197, showed a decline in this year’s chronic absenteeism rate from last year.

Chronic absenteeism among Connecticut’s youth ran rampant during COVID , with rates more than doubling from 2018-19 to 2021-22. Last year there was a reduction in chronic absenteeism, from a 23.7% rate in 2021-22 down to 20% in 2022-23.

CSDE credits the implementation of the state’s anti-truancy home-visitation initiative, Learner Engagement and Attendance Program ( LEAP ), for helping to bring the absentee rate down. CSDE said that students who were visited saw “double-digit improvements in student attendance rates six months after a visit.” Chronic absenteeism amongst kindergarteners and early grade levels was reported to be decreasing at the fastest rate.

This year’s CSDE statistics have also shown minor positive trends regarding academic achievement in math and science, showing increases in students’ performance index, which is the average score of students in a particular subject area. The state has a target of a 75 performance index for students across each grade level and subject area.

Among students of all grade levels, there were minor improvements made in the mathematics performance index, rising to 60.2 from 59.7 last year, and 58.6 from the year preceding it. The biggest improvements in mathematics were among grades 3-8, while eleventh graders saw a decline in scores from 51.9 to 49.9.

Science also saw improvements; students of all grade levels saw a 2-point increase in their science performance index, from 61.6 last year to 61.8 this year. Eighth graders saw a 6-point bump from 61 to 61.6, while eleventh graders saw a 2-point bump from 57.9 to 58. High-need students, defined as students with disabilities, students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, or those who are English learners, saw 6-point and 3-point increases in math and science respectively.

English was the subject the report says was most resistant to growth. Students of all grades remained steady, with the same performance index as last year, 63.9. Third and fourth graders, and sixth and seventh graders, were the only students to make slight improvements, with fifth graders holding steady, and eighth and eleventh graders showing minor decreases in index.

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