Despite a decline from the previous year, rates of chronic absenteeism for Wisconsin's students -- defined as missing more than one in ten school days for any reason -- remained at historically high levels in 2023 for children of every race, grade level, and socioeconomic status. District leaders point to many causes, including lasting impacts of…

In 2008 and 2012, Pioneer Institute published reports documenting declines in enrollment in Massachusetts' public schools. At the time, enrollment had fallen by about 35,000 students over a decade, or roughly 0.5 percent per year, with especially large drops in western Massachusetts and parts of Cape Cod. This paper examines enrollment trends…

The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a mandatory survey of all public schools and school districts in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This Data Snapshot provides student demographics and school characteristics and staff in the CRDC for the 2020-21 school year.

School absences increased massively during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain high internationally. We investigate whether policy variation in restrictions influenced pupil absence during the pandemic and how this affected post-pandemic attendance and academic achievement. Variation in restrictions during autumn 2020 that restricted social contact…

One of the biggest challenges schools across the United States face at the start of 2025 is the persistently high levels of student chronic absenteeism. Having skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest data shows it remains almost double pre- pandemic levels, with approximately one in four students missing more than ten percent of…

This brief report explores the associations of interpersonal strengths with subjective well-being and psychological flourishing among high-ability adolescents (M = 13.08, SD = 2.17) in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. It also examines the indirect effects of strengths on well-being outcomes via satisfaction of basic psychological…

Purpose: The COVID-19 period has led to defining changes in the teaching process. Therefore, it is essential to explore how teachers have approached these changes, what experiences they have gained and what they have tried to change. This study aims to elucidate how innovative practices were applied in teaching - which was influenced by emergency…

This paper investigates lost education time during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. We look at the general factors affecting rates of absence during different stages of the pandemic and the consequences of specific policy guidance. Our evidence shows that pupil absence was strongly linked to socioeconomic factors, with pupils in schools in more…

How much did students' grades in spring 2020 and spring 2021 differ from grades during pre-pandemic years? We used course grades data for students in grades 4-12 in Chicago Public Schools in spring 2020 and spring 2021, and compared them to course grades in spring terms from 2017-19. This study also considered differences in the proportion of…

The effect of remote learning on student performance has been a frequent topic of research and discussion in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet little is known about the impact of remote instruction on the performance of teachers. This study documents how relative effectiveness of teachers changed when moving from in-person to remote…

The Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) Program, signed into law on May 9, 2019 (1002.394, F.S.), was established to provide children of Florida families with financial assistance to attend an eligible private school of choice. Funding is equal to 100% of the district average cost per student. Eligibility is limited to students whose families…

This paper studies the effects of differential exposure to COVID-19 on educational outcomes in Guatemala. The government adopted a warning index (ranging from 0 to 10) to classify municipalities by infection rates in 2020, which was then used by the Ministry of Education in 2021 to establish a "stoplight" system for in-person…

A high level of school absence has persisted across many countries since the COVID-19 pandemic. We use English data to investigate whether a student's absence during the pandemic had a causal impact on school attendance and academic progress in future years, using variation in local regulations during the pandemic (not aimed at schools). We find…

The purpose of this study was to establish historical enrollment trends, student demographics, and home-based pedagogies of nonclassroom-based schools in California in an effort to gain insights into lesser-known homeschooling practices. According to the United States Department of Education, in 2016, homeschooling had progressively increased to…

Teachers often address student wellness concerns such as health and mental health. Yet, this work goes largely unacknowledged and unsupported by professional preparation. COVID-19 intensified these concerns amid disrupted systems of student support and increased student distress. Our national survey (N = 1398) pursued the powerful opportunity…