Findings from Nationally Representative Surveys of School Principals

October, 2026

Robert Balfanz and Vaughan Byrnes, Johns Hopkins University School of Education

Understanding how the nation’s school principals have responded to the rise in chronic absenteeism is crucial to understanding the mixed pace of improvement to date, as well as the actions which could accelerate declines in chronic absenteeism more broadly. This brief analyzes findings from two nationally representative surveys of school principals conducted during the 2024-25 school year. Principals were queried on their understanding of the causes of the rise in chronic absenteeism, the actions their schools have taken to address it, and their views on what has and has not been effective. Principals’ self-reports on their schools’ post-pandemic attendance improvements are then used to analyze what distinguishes schools that have seen significant reductions in chronic absenteeism from those that have not.

Key findings include:

• The only absenteeism strategies rated effective on their own by a majority of principals were those focused on improving student relationships and a supportive school environment.
• Principals who said their school had four or more effective attendance-improvement strategies were much more likely to report substantial reductions in chronic absenteeism (77 percent) than those reporting one effective strategy (41 percent).
• Principals reporting an effective attendance team were more than three times as likely to report four or more effective attendance strategies.

Findings underscore that schools need to effectively implement multiple evidence-based attendance improvement strategies in order to make substantial attendance improvements. Schools are furthermore much more likely to do this when they have an effective student success team, and when than can effectively interview, survey, or conduct focus group with students/families to understand why their students are not attending. Combining effective teams with mentors or success coaches and wraparound supports leads to better outcomes. Together, these findings support GRAD Partnership efforts to build collaborations between K-12 districts and local higher education institutions within local student success ecosystems. 

This brief was published alongside an updated Attendance Playbook. The 2026 The Attendance Playbook: Evidence-Based Strategies for Reducing Student Absenteeism, published by FutureEd and Attendance Works, draws on a wealth of new research to provide state, school district, and school leaders a wide range of evidence-based strategies to combat chronic absenteeism. Building on earlier editions, the 2026 Playbook includes new sections on foundational features of successful attendance efforts, early childhood education, and schoolwide social and emotional supports.