School attendance drives reading success—why showing up matters for North Carolina’s children and workforce
Our literacy and school attendance focus brings together key research from the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation to help policymakers, business leaders, and community partners understand the connection between attendance and literacy and explore practical solutions that help more students show up, stay engaged, and succeed.
Children cannot learn if they are not in the classroom. Regular school attendance is one of the strongest predictors of whether a child will learn to read on grade level by the end of third grade. Across North Carolina, chronic absenteeism has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Many schools and districts continue to struggle with attendance challenges, especially in communities facing economic hardship. When young children miss school frequently, it affects not only their own foundational learning but also teachers’ ability to keep entire classrooms moving forward.
At the same time, the data reveal something encouraging: some schools are improving attendance, including in high-poverty communities that are typically under-resourced. By identifying what these schools are doing right and scaling effective strategies, North Carolina can help more children stay engaged in school and on track for reading success.
The impacts of chronic absenteeism on students, families, and communities
Impacts on literacy development
Young children build reading skills through daily exposure to language, instruction, and practice. When students miss school frequently, they miss the lessons that build vocabulary, comprehension, and foundational literacy skills.
Impacts on classrooms
Chronic absenteeism affects entire classrooms. Teachers must spend time reviewing missed lessons and bringing students up to speed, which slows instruction and reduces learning time for all students.
In the 2023–24 school year, approximately 23 percent of North Carolina elementary school students were chronically absent, nearly double the pre-pandemic rate. That means roughly 183,000 young students were at risk of falling behind academically.
Challenges for families
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year, or about 18 days. Students who miss this amount of school are far more likely to struggle academically.
Families facing challenges such as unstable housing, transportation barriers, health issues, or unstable work schedules may struggle to ensure consistent attendance for young children.
Impacts on North Carolina’s future workforce
Reading proficiency by third grade is one of the strongest predictors of long-term academic success and workforce readiness. Students who are chronically absent during these years are significantly less likely to read at grade-level by third grade and are more likely to continue experiencing attendance challenges throughout their school careers.
When students fall behind early, the long-term effects ripple through schools, communities, and the state’s economy.