Study finds virtual learning linked to increased chronic absenteeism

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic absenteeism rates have nearly doubled nationwide for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

This increase was linked to the mode of instruction during the early years of the pandemic. In particular, schools that used virtual learning as their primary instructional mode during the 2020-21 school year experienced a greater increase in chronic absenteeism in the following year.

That increase was significantly greater in school districts with higher levels of poverty, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame.

William Evans, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics and co-founder of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Economic Opportunity Lab, co-authored the study along with current undergraduate student Kathryn Muchnick and 2024 graduate Olivia Rosenlund. Their work was recently published in JAMA Network Open.

The study analyzed two years of data from more than 11,000 school districts across the United States and found that chronic absenteeism rates rose from 16% in 2018-19 to nearly 30% in the 2021-22 school year.

Students whose schools had fully virtual instruction during the pandemic had chronic absenteeism rates that were nearly 7 percentage points higher than those whose schools were fully in-person, the research found.

A student is considered chronically absent if he or she misses at least 10% of school days in a given school year. That equates to more than three weeks of absences during a 180-day academic year.

As reported in the study, chronic absenteeism has been shown to lead to lower test scores, reduced social and educational interactions, lower high school graduation rates, and increased substance use. The rise in chronic absenteeism began to occur as U.S. public schools were trying to return to pre-pandemic modes of in-person teaching.

Previous studies have indicated that the shift from in-person instruction during the 2020-21 school year to online teaching methods reduced student achievement and educational development, negatively affected children’s mental well-being, and decreased school enrollment.

“We’ve learned a lot from the pandemic,” Evans said, “and a lot of work has been done to investigate what effects virtual learning has had on students. It’s really difficult when their educational experience is disrupted by going remote.”

Both of Evans’ co-authors were high school students during the pandemic, giving them a unique personal perspective on the study’s results. Rosenlund said that when she reached the end of her senior year with classes being completely virtual, she and her classmates “definitely had less motivation to learn during that time compared to when classes were completely in-person.”

Muchnick added: “The shift in student motivation after online learning (back to in-person) was palpable.”

The research also indicated that chronic absenteeism rates hit at-risk students and school districts with the highest levels of poverty the hardest. In those school districts, chronic absenteeism increased by more than 10 percentage points among students who had participated in fully remote instruction, compared to in-person learning.

“There’s growing evidence that those in the most precarious situations were actually the ones who were most impacted by virtual instruction,” Evans said. “Districts with higher levels of poverty already had higher rates of chronic absenteeism and were much more aggressive in using virtual learning during COVID.”

“So, you took a vulnerable population, you used this method of delivering educational instruction, and the outcomes for these children are substantially worse.”

Households with lower incomes or fewer resources were less likely to have reliable or high-speed internet service and had much less access to quality computers or technology, creating a less-than-ideal virtual learning environment.

“It was quite detrimental to the children who were most at risk in the first place,” Evans added, “and now they’ve been left even further behind as a result of these policies.”

Although the study did not specifically explore the reasons behind the drop in school attendance, it did offer several possible explanations.

First, approximately 10% to 20% of students were experiencing post-COVID-19 symptoms and may have chosen not to go to school for medical and health reasons.

Second, there was a corresponding increase in teacher absences and a shortage of substitute teachers, which made students feel less compelled to go to school.

Third, a higher incidence of mental health problems, often accompanied by increased preoccupation with social media, may have kept students at home.

Finally, after the pandemic, parents seem to be more willing to allow their children to miss school for various reasons.

Now that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, many parents, teachers and school administrators believe that virtual learning is here to stay and will continue to be an important component of K-12 education, potentially being used as a substitute for in-person learning in certain circumstances, such as snow days.

“It’s going to be really difficult to put the genie back in the bottle in this context,” Evans said.

Finding a balance between how to use virtual learning in a way that does not negatively impact students’ overall educational experience will be crucial, researchers say.

Rosenlund added: “It is disheartening that students continue to suffer the negative effects of online learning. I hope we can consider its implications more carefully in the future.”

Researchers suggest that educators and policymakers examine the evidence when establishing policies and practices related to online learning, particularly for those communities that support at-risk students, in order to achieve equitable outcomes for all students.

“I think we need to take a more holistic approach when thinking about how we address these pandemics in the future,” Evans said.