The latest round of student test scores show fewer Missouri public school districts and charter schools in jeopardy of losing accreditation, though this year鈥檚 data won鈥檛 immediately affect how schools are graded.

Based on annual performance report scores released Monday for the sixth iteration of the Missouri School Improvement Program, or MSIP6, there were 343 districts and charters that improved when compared to an average of their scores over the previous two years.

A total of 71 districts and charters scored in the provisionally accredited range, and four charter schools scored below 50%, which is the unaccredited range.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something that we鈥檝e been waiting for. Ever since the pandemic, we have looked at scores (and seen declines),鈥� Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger told reporters in a press conference. 鈥淔inally鈥� we鈥檙e starting to see the fruits of our labor. We鈥檙e starting to see where we are making progress.鈥�

MSIP6, which launched in 2022, has been lauded as 鈥渕ore rigorous鈥� and descriptive than prior versions of the program. Previously, many districts scored above 90%, whereas now their scores are more evenly distributed along a bell curve.

The score is a snapshot of student performance in end-of-course exams and statewide standardized tests along with an assessment of district continuous improvement plans.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education originally planned to base classification decisions on scores this year but will instead make decisions from three-year composite scores. Districts鈥� accreditation cannot be lowered from MSIP6 scores until 2026.

Based on composite scores for the three years of MSIP6 data, two charter schools are in the unaccredited range. The State Board of Education will determine accreditation status based on other factors, like superintendent qualifications and financial health.

Lisa Sireno, assistant commissioner of the Office of Quality Schools, told reporters the department switched to composite scores for classification this spring.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e more stable measures as they contain more data,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are less susceptible to extreme changes from year to year.鈥�

For smaller districts, a composite can protect them from volatility while the individual score gives a look at the last school year鈥檚 work.

Craig Carson, assistant superintendent of learning of the Ozark School District, said it is 鈥渁utopsy data.鈥�

鈥淭his is data that tells you about where you鈥檝e been,鈥� he told The Independent. 鈥淭he data we really use are the day-to-day data inside our classrooms.鈥�

Ozark is part of the Success Ready Students Network, which is a group of school districts compiling alternative methods of accountability. This year, the districts are showing the first draft of their plan, in the form of available on their websites.

鈥淲e are using a descriptive (report) that is found on our website, and it gives so much more information to our public about how our students are doing in the day to day, and it really emphasizes growth,鈥� Carson said.

He believes that the next iteration of the Missouri School Improvement Program will spring from work the Success Ready Students Network is doing.

鈥淲e are now building the momentum we need to really involve real-world learning with competency-based education and make sure that every student leaves being success-ready,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he excitement around that and the synergy of those school districts are creating, that will eventually turn into what MSIP7 will be.鈥�

Similar to Carson, Maplewood Richmond Heights School District Superintendent Bonita Jamison reiterated that the scores are a limited look at a district.

鈥淭hat data only tells one story, and there are stories that are not seen and reflected in those numbers, where the impact on the lives of children and their families are profound,鈥� she said.

Benchmark assessments serve the district better to see needs and fill them quickly, she said.

Maplewood Richmond Heights is one of the top-scoring districts this year, amassing 97% of points possible. Just three others fared better.

She points to 鈥渟hared accountability and ownership鈥� from the entirety of the district鈥檚 staff 鈥� including a custodian who doubles as an attendance monitor to encourage parents to get children to school.

She has theories why other schools didn鈥檛 score as well, mainly a teacher recruitment and retention crisis hitting poorer, urban schools hard.

Eslinger, in last week鈥檚 press conference, told reporters that teacher vacancies 鈥渕ake performance and improvement challenging.鈥�

鈥淲e know that with fewer educators, more and more courses across the state are being taught by student teachers and by folks that are substitutes that maybe have not really been trained on the specific content area,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got work to do there.鈥�

In 2024, of teaching were inappropriately certified for the course they were teaching and .

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and .

COLUMBIA 鈥� The Williamsburg County school board will be able to start making decisions again with oversight from the state Department of Education, marking the first move toward regaining local control in six years.

The rural, county-wide district of 2,800 students 鈥� located in the Pee Dee between Sumter and Georgetown 鈥� has been under the state鈥檚 control since 2018, meaning the district Board of Trustees can meet but can鈥檛 make any decisions for the district.

The return of some power is the first step in returning control to the locally elected board members, according to a Tuesday news release.

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to serve in the capacity the citizens elected us,鈥� said board Chair Marva Cannion, who was elected in 2019.

A report on the district鈥檚 improvements, which a state budget clause requires the state education agency to produce, could offer other poor, struggling school districts some insights into how they might boost performance and avoid a state takeover, Rep. Roger Kirby, D-Lake City, told the SC Daily Gazette on Wednesday. The directive in the state budget was his idea.

When the state first stepped in under then-state Superintendent Molly Spearman, the district was in dire straits financially and academically.

Officials had to repay more than $280,000 to the federal government and use another $368,000 to hire help in following federal spending and reporting requirements, at the time. Less than a quarter of all students could read on grade level, and even fewer third- through eighth-graders were passing their state-required math tests, according to state education data.

The district had been under notice for three years by that point, but little had changed, Cannion said. When Spearman declared a state of emergency and outlined the issues, Cannion agreed something had to happen, she told the Daily Gazette.

鈥淎t the time, it was warranted,鈥� Cannion said of the state takeover. 鈥淏ut it is now time, definitely, for local governance.鈥�

Improving grades

District officials thought they had hit the goals Spearmen set for them by 2022. The district鈥檚 finances were in order. The past several years of audits found no major issues. And students were improving academically, Cannion said.

When state Superintendent Ellen Weaver started her term last year, she gave a more specific benchmark. All eight of the district鈥檚 elementary through high schools needed to be rated at least 鈥渁verage,鈥� Cannion said the department told board members. As of 2022-2023, the district still had three schools falling behind that goal.

When the state for last school year, though, officials saw marked improvements.

The scores were enough for to receive at least an average rating, which takes into account student progress: Five received an 鈥渁verage鈥� rating, two were rated 鈥済ood,鈥� and one 鈥� an arts magnet middle school 鈥� rated 鈥渆xcellent,鈥� the highest possible.

Scores in every subject increased from the school year before. The largest jump was in the number of students passing their end-of-course Algebra 2 tests, which went from 20.7% to 59.2% 鈥� an increase of nearly 40 percentage points.

Improvements were even more significant when compared with scores during the 2017-2018 school year, the year before the state education agency took over.

On average, the percentage of third- through eighth-graders able to pass the end-of-year English test 鈥� showing they can read on grade level and are ready to advance 鈥� jumped from 24% to 42%.聽 In the same group, 25% received passing math scores at the end of last school year, compared to 18% six years before.

Still, just in the district鈥檚 Class of 2024 were considered , while 60% met benchmarks for being prepared to enter the workforce.

Students鈥� performance remains below the state鈥檚 , showing the district has more work ahead of it. But the improvements are promising, Kirby said.

鈥淚t certainly is an indication that improvements are being made, but I don鈥檛 think anyone would argue there鈥檚 not progress to be done,鈥� Kirby said.

The state department will continue to monitor the district鈥檚 progress over the next year and will discuss next steps with district leadership when the 2024-2025 report cards are out, according to the news release.

How it happened

Monitoring student progress and helping those who lagged behind played a major role in improving test scores, said district Superintendent Kelvin Wymbs, who was hired by the state agency.

After the takeover, the district started assessing students weekly to check their progress, Wymbs said. Teachers could then use those scores to determine which students needed extra help.

Teachers shifted their focus to what is known as tiered instruction, grouping students based on their skill level and giving them different versions of the same lesson in an effort to make sure every student grasped the concepts being taught, Cannion said.

That gave students who were struggling smaller groups to work in, she said.

Beginning in 2022, the district started offering specialized classes for eighth- through 12th-graders who had to repeat a grade at any point and were not on track to graduate.

Students in the program, known as , could enroll in middle and high school-level classes simultaneously, with smaller class sizes than typical, in an effort to make up any credits they may have missed, according to the district.

鈥淭hese were students who may have been counted as dropouts,鈥� Cannion said.

Partnerships with outside groups have helped give students access to opportunities they wouldn鈥檛 otherwise have, such as that offers cybersecurity courses. That, in turn, encourages students to engage with their other schoolwork, Kirby said.

He credited Wymbs鈥� leadership in pursuing those sorts of opportunities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 those types of things that could create exceptional outcomes, innovative things that previously were lacking,鈥� Kirby said. 鈥淭here are new ideas that are yielding results that point to visionary leadership.鈥�

Part of the change came from a shift in culture, Cannion and Wymbs said.

Teachers and administrators tried to drive home a sense of ambition and confidence in students, more than 90% of whom live in poverty, Wymbs said.

鈥淥ur students are competent. They want to compete academically,鈥� Wymbs said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e done a good job of instilling the idea that poverty, your ZIP code, none of that matters if you really engage in what we鈥檙e trying to teach you.鈥�

The district also hired security officers and started using wands as metal detectors at school entrances in order to bolster security and students鈥� feeling that they were safe at school.

And a hired consultant helped officials come up with plans and coached teachers, especially the district鈥檚 growing population of teachers from other countries, Wymbs said.

鈥淚t comes down to personnel and having people who truly care about student success,鈥� Wymbs said.

What comes next

Other school districts, particularly those at risk of a takeover under state law, could use similar methods to improve their own academic performances, Kirby said.

Kirby鈥檚 proposal for the state budget directive came out of frustration from Williamsburg County鈥檚 board of trustees, who met with him. Inserted by the House during floor debate on the budget, it required the department to give legislators a report on why Spearman took over the district, what the state has done since then, and what specific benchmarks the district must meet to receive full governing powers.

The budget clause, which ended up in the state鈥檚 final spending package, was meant to give clarity to the school board, which was 鈥渢ruly almost in the dark for the past four years,鈥� Kirby said at the time.

The report is due by Jan. 1. It must be provided to legislators representing the county. The entire delegation consists of one senator and two House members, with Kirby representing the majority of the county.

The report should give district officials in Williamsburg County a more detailed idea of what to expect moving forward.聽It could also help other districts understand what, exactly, the department considers success in struggling schools and what help is on the table, Kirby said.

Agency spokesman Jason Raven said the department offers extra support to districts underperforming academically to keep them from getting to the point of a state takeover.

Three districts 鈥渇acing potential takeover鈥� 鈥� Colleton, Jasper and McCormick counties 鈥� improved in their report cards this year, he said in an email.

, the former state superintendent, took over three failing districts in a . State law has authorized such takeovers of schools and entire districts since 1998, but no other superintendent had attempted to take control of so many.

The other two were , which remains under state control, and tiny Timmonsville (Florence 4), a district so small that all of its students were on one campus. State control ended there following a with neighboring Florence 1, the county鈥檚 largest school district, which includes the city of Florence.

Kirby said the agency鈥檚 report could give Allendale County officials a better idea of what benchmarks it needs to meet.

Without that information, Kirby鈥檚 not sure what must happen to improve rural districts鈥� performances, he said.

鈥淚鈥檓 anxious to see what the department is recommending,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat is their answer to this?鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: info@scdailygazette.com. Follow SC Daily Gazette on and .

Virginia students鈥� reading and math assessments for the 2023-24 school year saw some improvement over last year after months of recovery efforts, according to data released by the Department of Education Tuesday. However, pass rates in other subjects are still behind results from the 2022-23 school year.

Pass rates for grades 3 through 8 in reading, math, and science Standards of Learning tests all showed increases statewide by at least 1%. Writing showed the highest increase 鈥� 17 percentage points 鈥� while history and social science saw little gain, less than a percentage point.

The Standards of Learning tests (SOLs) are used in Virginia to measure student learning and achievement in mathematics, reading, science, writing, and history and social science. Testing was suspended during 2020-21, when many schools around the state stopped in-person instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023-24, roughly 71% of Virginia students passed the math tests compared to 82% before the pandemic. On reading tests, 77.5% of students overall passed compared to 73% before the pandemic.

The administration has regularly the results of the learning loss on prior Boards of Education that changed the state鈥檚 standards of school accreditation and required to be considered proficient in a certain subject, on student assessments. Democrats and previous board members have defended such decisions.

鈥淓very single one of our data releases is a snapshot into a motion picture, and I鈥檓 pleased today that the motion picture will, in fact, show that a ship that was off course has been turned around, and that we are seeing progress,鈥� said Gov. Glenn Youngkin, 鈥渂ut we will also say today that we have a long way to go.鈥�

Last September, the administration, troubled by the significant learning loss in reading and math, dedicated $418 million through the 2025-26 school year to the problem. The administration launched 鈥渉igh-intensity鈥� tutoring programs and the 鈥淎LL IN VA鈥� plan to focus on attendance, literacy and tutoring.

Statewide, schools hired additional tutors, extended instruction time before and after school, and focused on using the state鈥檚 free personalized supplemental math and reading resources.

The data showed a 16% reduction in students chronically absent in 2023-24 compared to the previous year. Students are chronically absent if they have missed at least 18 days of instruction for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences.

Data shows pass rates statewide increased for economically disadvantaged students, English learners and students with disabilities over the previous two school years.

Mixed results between counties

However, school divisions have had mixed results with pass rates.

Fairfax County, the largest school division in Virginia, maintained similar pass rates in reading, math and science over the previous two school years, but experienced significant drops in writing, and history and social science by at least 20 percentage points each.

Craig County, one of the smaller school divisions in the commonwealth, saw increases in all five subject areas.

The administration also praised school divisions such as Bath and Brunswick County Public Schools.

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, Bath saw a 19% increase in reading scores and Brunswick saw a 21% increase in grades 3-8 math pass rates.

With schools facing the threat of All In VA funding ending in two years, Kristy Somerville-Midgette, superintendent of Brunswick County Public Schools, recommended superintendents work with their school boards, and local government and 鈥渂e creative鈥� with their funding and 鈥渓ook for opportunities to best serve students.鈥�

Levi Goren, a policy director at The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, said in a statement that the increases in pass rates are 鈥済reat鈥� and the success is likely connected to the recent increases in state support for students. Support for students facing 鈥渉igher barriers,鈥� such as students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and English language learners, is still needed, Goren added.

鈥淲hile today鈥檚 scores were promising for some of these students, we know that one strong year of improvement cannot make up for the continued impact of years of insufficient funding,鈥� Goren said. 鈥淪ustained increases in state funding would help lift test scores and other outcomes for students facing greater barriers.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on and .

English-learning students鈥� scores on a state test designed to measure their mastery of the language fell sharply and have stayed low since 2018 鈥� a drop that bilingual educators say might have less to do with students鈥� skills and more with sweeping design changes and the automated computer scoring system that were introduced that year.

English learners who used to speak to a teacher at their school as part of the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System now sit in front of a computer and respond to prompts through a microphone. The Texas Education Agency uses software programmed to recognize and evaluate students鈥� speech.

Students鈥� scores dropped after the new test was introduced, a Texas Tribune analysis shows. In the previous four years, about half of all students in grades 4-12 who took the test got the highest score on the test鈥檚 speaking portion, which was required to be considered fully fluent in English. Since 2018, only about 10% of test takers have gotten the top score in speaking each year.

Passing TELPAS is not a graduation requirement, but the test scores can impact students. Bilingual educators say students who don鈥檛 test out of TELPAS often have to remain longer in remedial English courses, which might limit their elective options and keep their teachers from recommending them for advanced courses that would help make them better candidates when they apply for college.

The way the state education agency currently tests English learners鈥� skills frustrates some educators who say many of their students are already fully capable of communicating in English but might be getting low marks in the test because of the design changes.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e putting [students] in an artificial environment, which already reduces the ability of students to give you natural language,鈥� said Jennifer Phillips, an educator with two decades of experience teaching bilingual students in Texas. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a flawed system.鈥�

TELPAS scores also account for 3% of the grades the TEA gives school districts and campuses in its A-F accountability rating system. Though they only represent a small portion of their rating, TELPAS scores might be more significant for school districts at a time when they have grown increasingly worried about how the state evaluates their performance. Several districts have sued TEA to block the release of the last two years of ratings, arguing that recent changes to the metrics made it harder to get a good rating and could make them more susceptible to state intervention.

TEA鈥檚 use of an automated scoring engine to score portions of TELPAS has also come under scrutiny after the agency used the same tool to evaluate short-answer and essay questions in this year鈥檚 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, the state鈥檚 standardized test that all students in grades 4-12 take to measure their understanding of core subjects. of using an automated system to score STAAR and list it as one of their complaints in the districts鈥� latest lawsuit against the state.

Testing English learners鈥� skills

When students enter a public school in Texas, they are classified as 鈥渆mergent bilingual鈥� if they indicate they speak a language other than English at home and fail a preliminary English assessment. About a quarter of Texas students have that designation.

Federal law requires Texas to assess English learners鈥� progress regularly. Texas is one of only a handful of states that developed its own test instead of using the exam used in other parts of the country.

Each spring, about a million emergent bilingual students in Texas public schools take the TELPAS exam, which consists of four parts: listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Before 2018, teachers with TELPAS training would administer the test at students鈥� schools. Listening and reading evaluations were, and still remain, multiple-choice sections measuring student comprehension. For writing, teachers would gather and assess a sample of students鈥� work in the classroom throughout the school year. For speaking, teachers would talk to students in one-on-one evaluations or fill out a rubric based on their observations of students鈥� English fluency throughout the year.

When the TEA moved the test online, it changed the testing environment and scoring method. The change sought to standardize the test and make the results more reliable, an agency spokesperson said. The automated scoring technology helped deliver speaking assessment results more quickly. Last year, the automated scoring system started evaluating students鈥� written responses.

In each of the four assessment categories, students get a score of beginner, intermediate, advanced or advanced high. Students have to continue taking the test each year until they score advanced high in at least three categories; they may score advanced in the other one and still pass. Before this year, students had to score advanced high in every domain.

Several bilingual educators the Tribune spoke with for this story said the low test scores students have received since the test was changed do not reflect their actual performance in the classroom, adding that many English learners communicate better than their scores suggest. While English-learning students鈥� scores have since 2021, the TELPAS scores 鈥� particularly in speaking 鈥� have remained low since the test was changed.

鈥淚t is a little disheartening,鈥� said Ericka Dillon, director of bilingual education and English as a Second Language courses at Northside ISD in the San Antonio area. The district has about 14,500 emergent bilingual students, a significant number of whom are proficient in English but struggle to reach advanced high on the TELPAS assessment, she said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing the best that they can, but they still won鈥檛 be able to meet that criteria,鈥� Dillon said.

In response to a Tribune data analysis showing that the average number of passing TELPAS scores in speaking dropped after TEA redesigned the test and introduced the automated scoring system, an agency spokesperson said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not uncommon to see performance adjustments when student performance is evaluated in a standardized manner across the state.鈥� The spokesperson also noted that speaking and writing are by nature more challenging than listening and reading.

The TEA has vigorously defended its automated scoring engine, rejecting comparisons of the technology to artificial intelligence. The agency has said humans oversee and train the system as well as monitor its results. The TEA said a technical advisory council has approved the technology, and when the program encounters a student response that its training does not know how to handle, it directs it to a human to score.

This year, the TEA said that at least 25% of the TELPAS writing and speaking assessments were re-routed to a human scorer to check the program鈥檚 work. That number oscillated between 17% and 23% in the previous six years, according to public records obtained by the Tribune.

Score changes after human reviews

One of the reasons educators are skeptical of TELPAS鈥� automated system is how scores sometimes change when they ask for a review. Humans rescore speaking and writing assessments.

Last year, 9% of the TELPAS speaking assessments that TEA reviewed got a higher score; that number was 13% the year before. The automated system initially scored more than 95% of the assessments that improved after a second look, public records show.

Spring Branch ISD officials said the percentage of assessments that improved after requesting a rescore was even higher at their district. They sent more than 800 speaking assessments for rescoring in 2022, and more than a third got a better score after they were reviewed. The next year, about half of their submissions improved after rescoring, officials said.

鈥淚f the evidence from our rescoring submissions is any indication, the system leaves a lot to be desired for its accuracy,鈥� said Keith Haffey, executive director of assessment and compliance at Spring Branch ISD.

It鈥檚 unclear how many assessments would lead to a better grade after a second look since most results go unchallenged. The number of rescored assessments each year is less than 1% of the total TELPAS tests administered. Educators say they have to weigh costs and time constraints when deciding whether to request a rescore. Reviews are free if they result in a better score; if they don鈥檛, schools have to pay $50 per rescoring request.

In addition, educators say it鈥檚 not easy to decide which results to challenge because they haven’t had access to students’ audio responses. This contrasts with STAAR results: Written student responses are readily available online to districts.

鈥淚f we can鈥檛 hear how they did on TELPAS, we can鈥檛 say if this is where they really are or not,鈥� Dillon said.

The TEA says district testing coordinators can request listening sessions, but some educators said the agency’s director of student assessments told them only parents can request the files. A TEA spokesperson said that person misspoke.

In response to district feedback, the TEA spokesperson said districts and parents will have easier access to all TELPAS responses starting in the 2024-25 school year.

Not an 鈥渁ccurate reflection鈥�

Edith Trevi帽o, known affectionately as Dr. ET, used to be the ESL specialist for the TEA鈥檚 education service center in Edinburg. Now she runs a private consulting practice helping students pass TELPAS.

Trevi帽o said she worries that the automated scoring system penalizes students who are fluent in English but speak with an accent, mix in a few words from their native tongue or stray from using academic language.

鈥淐hildren are not supposed to answer like regular people, according to TELPAS,鈥� she said.

To score advanced high in the test鈥檚 speaking portion, students must respond to each prompt with answers that last 45 to 90 seconds. They have two chances to record a response and they need to use academic language fitting their grade level.

But Trevi帽o said the prompts are often simple and do not require long answers. In a recent , she said some questions were like asking students to identify an orange.

Because passing TELPAS is not a graduation requirement and scores only account for a small portion of campus and district accountability ratings, some schools do not prioritize helping students prepare for the test. But the results can affect students鈥� educational journey.

Many school districts enroll English-learning students in ESL courses, which can prevent them from taking certain electives and advanced courses because of scheduling conflicts. Teachers or staff might also hesitate to recommend a student to advanced courses if they are still taking ESL courses, Phillips said. Those advanced courses, especially at the high school level, are crucial to being competitive in college admissions.

She said any school policies that keep English learners from participating in advanced courses would amount to language-based discrimination. Nevertheless, she said it鈥檚 a common practice she鈥檚 observed in her career as an educator and while studying for her doctorate in education.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not in the law, but it鈥檚 in practice,鈥� Phillips said.

Not being able to test out of TELPAS can also impact students鈥� experience in school. Kids failing to pass the test could internalize the failure, which in turn makes them vulnerable to further academic struggles, Phillips said.

鈥淲hat this does to children’s self-esteem is horrible,鈥� Trevi帽o said, particularly for students who can speak English well but have test results that tell them they are not proficient.

Carlene Thomas, the former ESL coordinator for the TEA who now is the CEO of an education consulting company, said she would like to see the TEA use more sophisticated tools that enable more conversational student responses to ensure TELPAS is 鈥渕eaningful in how students interact socially and with content material.鈥�

She added that educators should also help students by giving them more opportunities to practice speaking English during class, relying less on direct translation and ensuring they understand the stakes and structure of the test.

But as of now, she said, 鈥淭ELPAS is not giving us an accurate reflection of where our students are.鈥�

The full program is now LIVE for the , happening Sept. 5鈥�7 in downtown Austin. Explore the program featuring more than 100 unforgettable conversations on topics covering education, the economy, Texas and national politics, criminal justice, the border, the 2024 elections and so much more.

This article originally appeared in at . The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Half of students in 84 Indiana schools were chronically absent last year. Chronic absenteeism is defined as when students miss at least 10% of school days, or 18 days in a year.  Indiana has its own higher goal for its students鈥� 94% attendance 鈥� but 40% are missing that mark.

鈥淧rior to Covid our learning incomes needed improvement,鈥� Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淏ut when you look at our chronic absenteeism data, we鈥檙e setting up for a situation that鈥檚 a vicious cycle.鈥�

Students who struggle academically, Jenner said, are the most likely to be chronically absent. 

鈥淲hen they鈥檙e missing almost a month of school, or in some cases more than a month, it鈥檚 causing significant challenges for our educators to get them caught back up,鈥� she said. 

Indiana is far from alone in its struggle with student attendance. An by Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University shows that 2 out of 3 students in the U.S. were enrolled in schools with high or extreme rates of chronic absenteeism during the 2021-22 school year. 

Indiana鈥檚 numbers are considered extreme. The state鈥檚 absenteeism data looks like an inverted bell curve. Children in grades K-2 are absent at higher rates than students in higher elementary grades and middle school. The absenteeism rates go up again in high school. 

But attendance is a problem throughout the grades. Among the most concerning data for state officials are absenteeism rates for fourth graders. of fourth graders were chronically absent last year, according to federal data. of Indiana鈥檚 fourth graders scored below basic on federal reading tests last year. Low academic performance is , especially when students are absent five or more days during the month preceding the assessment. 

Indiana fared better than some other states when it came to attendance last year. New Mexico absenteeism rate statewide and Nevada鈥檚 was at 36%. But a closer look at Indiana鈥檚 data is more troubling.

While nearly 40% of students in Indianapolis, the state鈥檚 biggest district, were chronically absent last year, in Gary, that number was more than 70% and in Muncie, more than 60% of students missed more than three weeks of school, according to the State Department of Education. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a crisis in our district at every grade level,鈥� said Lee Ann Kwiatkowski, director of public education for Muncie Community Schools. Kwiatkowski said that during the pandemic, school officials encouraged families to keep children home if they were even slightly ill. Now, they鈥檙e trying to reverse that message. 鈥淲e would say, 鈥楥ome pick them up, they鈥檙e coughing.鈥� Now, we see that if a student says they have a headache, parents are letting them stay home,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are working to change that narrative.鈥�

The most vulnerable groups are the most likely to be chronically absent, state data shows. More than 30% of Black students missed more than three weeks of school last year. Over a quarter of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch were chronically absent, as were 1 in 5 English language learners.

Family poverty is one issue at the core of the problem, Jenner said. When asked why they are so frequently absent from school, high school students have said that they have to care for younger siblings while a parent works. Other students report that because they are not fluent in English, they don鈥檛 understand what their teachers are saying.

At one Gary, Indiana school in particular, poverty and chronic absenteeism have contributed to low academic achievement. More than 85% of students at Bailly Middle School 鈥� now called Bailly STEM Academy 鈥� qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. In 2022, just 1% of sixth graders at Bailly met growth targets on state math assessments. That year, Officials in Gary declined to comment.

With this level of chronic absenteeism, Attendance Works Executive Director Hedy Chang said, the school鈥檚 climate must be missing core elements that make kids feel safe and engaged. To get students to attend school regularly, administration will have to launch  a school-wide effort to create a secure and welcoming environment. 

鈥淢y first question would be, 鈥楧o I make sure that every kid has an adult on that campus they can talk to?鈥欌�� Chang said. Physical and emotional safety and a feeling of belonging are among the core conditions necessary to engage students, she said. 鈥淵ou can send out communications saying, 鈥榳e miss you,鈥� but if a student doesn鈥檛 feel like anybody at the school cares about them, some little note might not do a lot.鈥� 

High-poverty communities like the one served by Bailly were hit hardest by the pandemic, Chang added. Low-income families were most likely to include essential workers and to experience the loss of family members, jobs and access to health care. After enduring this kind of stress, families may be particularly cautious about sending children to school, Chang said.

鈥淚f you want to tell families that it鈥檚 safe for their children to come back to school, you have to make sure that it鈥檚 true,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen schools shut down, the trust between families and schools was eroded.鈥�

Earlier this school year, Indiana state officials development of an early warning dashboard to make educators and parents aware of which students are in danger of not graduating. Attendance will be one of the indicators included in determining who is at risk. The state plans to pilot the dashboard in the next school year. 

The dashboard reflects Indiana鈥檚 shifting view of absenteeism, Jenner, the state education secretary, said. Rather than looking at school-site data, the dashboard focuses on individual students. Learning outcomes and attendance data will be posted for each student, to help teachers and families keep track.

鈥淭hat will be telling, for parents and families,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey can see early on if their child is chronically absent and what impact that is having.鈥�