EdTribune

Cherokee County Cut Chronic Absenteeism 13 Points in Two Years From Its 2022-23 Peak

Cherokee County went from 39.3% chronic absenteeism in 2022-23 to 26.2% in 2024-25, the third-largest drop among 80 South Carolina districts.

NC's Native American Students Cut Chronic Absence From 48.7% to 40.9%. The Gap With White Students Stayed Above 20 Points.

Native American students had NC's highest chronic absence rate in 2023-24, 40.9%. About half attend Robeson County schools, where the rate was 47.8%.

Mississippi's Four-Year Enrollment Slowdown Ended With a 10,725-Student Drop

Enrollment losses averaged 1,842 students from 2022 through 2025 before a 10,725-student drop in 2026 reshaped Mississippi's trend.

Michigan’s 84.0% Graduation Rate Spanned a Wide Range of District Reports

Michigan reported 84.0% four-year graduation for the Class of 2025. Among 645 district reports with rates, 110 reached at least 95% and 97 were below 70%.

Nicole Miller Leads Garrett County Schools With a Focus on Keeping the Students It Has

Dr. Nicole Miller, promoted from chief academic officer, became Garrett County's superintendent on July 1. The state's 2025-26 data show where the district's enrollment losses come from.

Martin Son Returns to Germantown, a District Within Three Students of Its Size a Decade Ago

Germantown SD 60's new superintendent/principal taught junior high math in the district. He takes over a school whose enrollment barely moved over a decade in which the state's fell 10%.

Alaska Attendance Gains Were Uneven Across Four Districts in 2024-25

Anchorage and Mat-Su improved in 2024-25, while Fairbanks and Juneau posted small increases in chronic absence. All remained below their 2021-22 rates.

Minnesota Had More District Graduation Highs Than Lows in Its 2020–2024 Panel

In a complete historical five-year panel, 110 Minnesota districts matched their graduation highs in 2024 and 86 their lows. Ties are included.

Noel Cochran Returns to Hall County to Lead North Hall Middle School

Noel Cochran, a Hall County native who spent a decade in the district before leading Tesnatee Gap Elementary, is now principal at North Hall Middle School, which recorded 812 students in 2025-26.

Alaska's Chronic-Absence Rate Fell More Slowly in 2024-25

Alaska recorded a third annual decline in chronic absence in 2024-25. The smaller improvement left the rate above its earlier baseline.

Parma's Absence Rate Fell 22.6 Points and Finished Below Ohio's Average

Parma City's published chronic absenteeism rate fell from 46.5% in 2021-22 to 23.9% in 2024-25, below the corresponding Ohio rate.

Waukegan Raised Its Graduation Rate 9.8 Points from 2022 to 2025

Waukegan's four-year graduation rate reached 83.8% in the 2025 report, above Chicago's rate while still trailing the Illinois average.

Alaska's Attendance Gap Narrowed for Students with Disabilities

Alaska's published attendance rates show a narrowing gap for students with disabilities from 2021-22 to 2024-25, with a substantial gap to the earlier baseline.

Gordon Parks Reported Three Annual Declines in Chronic Absence

Gordon Parks' chronic absence declined across three annual transitions. Named district examples show other endpoint improvements, with complete reported histories and explicit limits.

Five Louisiana Parish Systems Improved in an Attendance Pilot. West Baton Rouge Led the Group

Five Louisiana parish systems in an attendance pilot improved in 2024-25. West Baton Rouge paired the largest proportional drop with a longer streak.

Olentangy and Other Large Ohio Districts Reported Below-State Absence Rates

The 2024-25 reports show substantial differences among large Ohio districts, including a low rate at Olentangy and a small final-year increase.

Clark County's Graduation Rate Rises for the Class of 2025

Clark’s published four-year graduation rate rose to 86.6% for the Class of 2025, after two classes at 81.5%.

195 Missouri Reports Stayed Below the State's Absence Rate. Most Still Worsened.

A complete attendance comparison finds sustained relative differences, but most qualifying district-level reports ended above their own earlier rates.

Mark Farrar Takes Over at Silver Lake, Where Enrollment Has Held Its Ground for Five Years

Silver Lake's new superintendent arrived from two high school principalships and says his first priority is listening, in a district that ended the last five years within eight students of where it started.

Independence and Osage City Finished Kansas's Attendance Series Below Baseline

A historical comparison ending in 2021-22 identifies unusual district results and the limits of calling them sustained recovery.

Andrew Duffek Takes Over Sundale Union, a One-School District at Its Largest in State Records

Sundale Union's new superintendent wants to keep the school's pride and build up career technical education. The district enrolled 849 students in 2025-26, its highest count in the state's records back to 2010-11.

Alaska's Absence Rate Is Falling, but Few Districts Are Back at Baseline

Annual improvement slowed in Alaska's most recent attendance reports. Six comparable district-level reports, including Mount Edgecumbe, were at or below their pre-pandemic rates.

Ohio’s Published Hispanic Absence Rate Held Steady in 2024-25

The published Hispanic chronic-absence rate stayed at 33.0% in 2024-25. Rounded rates limit precision, and subgroup changes were uneven.

Michael Whaland Takes Over One of the Few New Hampshire Districts That Did Not Shrink

New Hampshire has lost one student in eight since 2014-15. Moultonborough has lost nine. Its new superintendent arrives wanting to expand early childhood, and the district's prekindergarten band has already more than doubled.

Flint’s Graduation Rate Rebounded in 2025, With a Much Smaller Cohort

Flint’s 2025 graduation rate rose to 52.3%, while its cohort contained 174 students. Published observations show a large long-term cohort decline and a continuing state gap.

St. Charles Parish Posted Louisiana's Lowest Parish Absence Rate

St. Charles Parish cut chronic absenteeism from 17.5% to 7.7% in three annual improvements, while Louisiana remained above its pre-pandemic rate.

Shenendehowa Stayed Below New York’s Absence Rates, but High School Rose

Shenendehowa stayed below New York’s chronic-absence rates in both school levels in 2024-25, though the district’s high-school rate rose.

Willmar's Graduation Climb Continues Into the Class of 2025

Willmar improved in five consecutive annual transitions through the Class of 2025, the only district to do so in a complete six-class panel of 399 district reports.

Joseph Macary Opens in Middletown Where Prekindergarten Has Roughly Doubled

Middletown's new superintendent, Joseph Macary, says the achievement gap starts in kindergarten. The district's published prekindergarten count grew from 123 to 237 over the last dozen reporting years.

Kevin Daniel Leads Riverton Intermediate After Four Straight Years of Growth

Kevin Daniel, a Madison County Schools graduate, became principal of Riverton Intermediate on July 1, taking over a grades 4-6 school that counted 921 students in 2025-26.

Petersburg's Low-Income Attendance Gap Stayed Within Three Points

Across Alaska's five published chronic-absence years, Petersburg stayed below the state and its economically disadvantaged rate stayed within three points of the district total.

Lucas Clouse Once Supervised the Teachers Who Taught Him. Now He Leads West Perry.

West Perry's new superintendent is a graduate of its schools and has been a district administrator since 2007. He takes over as enrollment sits at its lowest point since at least 2007-08.

English Learners' Attendance Recovery Differs by School Level

English learner absenteeism fell at both school levels in 2024-25. Recovery lagged the all-student decline in elementary and middle school, but exceeded it in high school.

Illinois's Graduation Rates Rise Beyond the Four-Year Mark

Matched cohorts show larger graduation-rate gains for English learners and students in foster care than the statewide gain.

Wyoming’s Female Graduation Rate Was Higher in All 16 Reported Years

Published four-year graduation rates were 85.5% for female students and 81.0% for male students in 2024–25; the gap persisted throughout the 2010–2025 series.

Lake Oswego Was Below Oregon Absenteeism in All Nine Reported Years

Lake Oswego reported 18.1% chronic absenteeism in 2024–25, below Oregon’s 33.5% rate and lowest among districts with at least 5,000 attendance-enrolled students.

62 Ohio Districts Were at Their Four-Year Absenteeism High in 2024-25

Ohio absenteeism fell statewide, but 62 of 607 districts were at their highest rate in the available 2021–22 through 2024–25 series.

Greece's Attendance Recovery Reversed in 2024-25

Greece's elementary/middle and high school absenteeism rates rose in 2024-25, after earlier gains. Both remained above their pre-pandemic baselines.

Lakewood's Public Schools Have Shrunk to 3,766 Students. The State Wants to Take Them Over.

Lakewood Township enrolled 3,766 public-school students in 2025-26, down 37.6% from its 2016 peak. NJ moved to take over the district in January, citing a structural fiscal mismatch with 50,000-plus yeshiva students.

Aaron Lock Comes Home to Altamont, Where Enrollment Grew as Most Illinois Districts Shrank

Altamont CUSD 10's new superintendent grew up in the town. He inherits a district that added students from 2022-23 to 2024-25, when most Illinois districts lost them.

Four Camden Operators Now Enroll 2,503 More Students Than the City District

Camden City School District fell 49.0% from 2010 to 2026, while four current operator districts enroll 9,099 students in the latest file.

Kent Mayfield Brings a Career Inside Pulaski County to the Superintendent's Office

Pulaski County's new superintendent says his first year is for listening, and he wants the district to stay flexible while enrollment moves.

Elmbrook's Chronic Absence Rate Fell While Wisconsin's Rose

Elmbrook enrolls 7,452 students and reported a 3.1% chronic absenteeism rate in 2025, more than 14 points below the state average and two points below its own pre-pandemic level.

Troy Whittle Chose Colfax for His First Superintendency

After seven years as an assistant superintendent in Clarkston, he wanted a smaller district with strong schools and a community that shows up for them. He is starting with a listening tour and a goal of turning steady enrollment into growth.

Nate Artino Starts Bellevue City Role With a Listening-First Agenda

Nate Artino begins as Bellevue City Schools superintendent with a focus on listening, shared vision and trust as the district plans around a decade of enrollment decline.

Jersey City Has Drifted Down for a Decade While Newark Has Widened Its Lead

Jersey City Public Schools enrolled 27,464 students in 2010 and 25,307 in the fall 2025 file. The 7.9% slide is small in any one year, while Newark next door now enrolls 17,909 more students.

No Recovery Year: 13 Mississippi Districts in Decade-Long Freefall

Thirteen Mississippi districts have lost students every single year for a decade. Together they shed 20,854 students, one-third of the state's total loss.

Maine Recovered to 87.3% After a COVID Dip — But the Gaps Didn't Close

Maine's graduation rate recovered to 87.3% after a COVID dip, gaining nearly 3 points since 2012. But gaps for homeless students and English learners were wider in 2023 than in 2012.

MSD Warren Township: From 64% to 21% in Four Years

Warren Township's chronic absenteeism fell from 63.6% to 21.4%, the largest 2021-to-2025 drop among Indiana school corporations with at least 10,000 students.

Winnebago's Enrollment Losses Had Slowed. Then 2025-26 Fell by 44. Michael Dugan Has the Interim Year.

Winnebago CUSD 323 gave up about 30 students a year through 2020-21 and about eight a year through 2024-25, then 44 in 2025-26 on the state's fall count. Michael Dugan, whose first day as interim superintendent was August 28, describes the assignment as holding the district's course for its next permanent leader.

Ben Dutton Starts at Center 26 JT, Where Chronic Absence Fell to 18.3% While Colorado's Rose

Center's new superintendent says his first year is for listening ahead of a five-year plan. The state's files show a district where attendance improved and enrollment fell.

Yuri Calderon Wants Penn Valley's Vision Written by the Community, Not His Office

Yuri Calderon became superintendent of Penn Valley Union Elementary on July 1 after a career in school finance, law, and small-district advocacy. He starts with 530 students and a community vision process he says should not come from his desk.

On the Navajo Nation, Tuba City's Attendance Recovery Outpaced the State by 21 Points

On the Navajo Nation, Tuba City Unified dropped from 57% to 28% chronically absent in three years, outpacing Arizona's recovery by 21 points.

Wyoming's Low-Income Graduation Gap Reached a 16-Year Low

Wyoming's all-student minus low-income four-year graduation gap narrowed from 15.1 points in 2009-10 to a series-low 8.6 points in 2024-25.

Amy Wentworth Came Home to Lead Indian Valley Local, the District She Graduated From

Amy Wentworth became Indian Valley Local's superintendent in August, returning to the district she graduated from. It enrolled 1,605 students in 2025-26.

Mississippi's Largest Non-COVID Enrollment Loss in Its Recent Record

Mississippi lost 10,725 students in 2025-26, its largest decline outside the COVID year in the available record. Only 26 of 152 districts grew.

Minnesota's 2024 Graduation Rebound Cut Non-Graduates by 445

Minnesota's four-year graduation rate rose from 83.3% in 2023 to 84.2% in 2024 as graduates increased by 1,427 and non-graduates fell by 445.

Maine's Special Education Graduation Gap Narrowed 4.6 Points

Maine's special education graduation rate rose 6.6 points from 2013 to 2023, narrowing its gap with the statewide rate from 17.4 to 12.9 points.

Robert Hubbird Takes Over a Lincoln 156 Whose Enrollment Held Steady After Years of Decline

The new superintendent of the Calumet City district says he was told as a student that he was being expelled. He arrives after a year in which the state's count of the district's students held steady at 717, following years of decline.

Earlville's Biggest Class Isn't a Grade. It's the Preschool.

Jenette Fruit stepped up to lead a district that enrolled 406 students in 2025-26 after a rebound from its low. Its early learning center enrolls more children than any grade in the building, and she wants it bigger.

Pueblo School District 60 hits 11 straight years of enrollment loss

Pueblo D60 lost 25.9% of its enrollment over the checked annual history. Its eleven-year decline streak is longest among the eligible complete histories.

South Carolina's Chronic Absenteeism Improvement Slowed in 2024-25

Last school year's most recent published data show 176,344 chronically absent students and a statewide rate of 22.3%, down 0.9 percentage points.

Bill Wingler Takes Over Columbia Local After Four Straight Years of Enrollment Growth

Bill Wingler begins as Columbia Local superintendent in a Lorain County district whose enrollment rose from 847 to 1,029, with the growth concentrated in Copopa Elementary.

Johanna Osborn Says a New Activities Agreement Is Built for Arrowhead's Middle Grades

Montana published 55 students at Arrowhead in 2025-26, and eight of them were in grades 6 through 8. Its superintendent, who also serves as principal, says an activities agreement with Livingston and Gardiner is aimed at that stretch.

Maine's Graduation Gender Gap Reached Its Narrowest Point in 12 Published Cohorts

Maine's statewide graduation gender gap fell to 2.7 points in 2023, its narrowest across 12 published cohorts, after moving in both directions for years.

Maryland's Absenteeism Rate Fell Again. The Last Step Was Half as Large.

Maryland's chronic absenteeism rate fell to 25.2% in 2024-25, but the latest 1.5-point improvement was less than half the prior year's gain.

Annie Azarloza Wants Northampton to Be a District Families Choose. Its Enrollment Has Fallen 319 Students Since 2014-15.

Northampton enrolled 2,382 students in 2025-26, down 11.8 percent since 2014-15 against 5.6 percent statewide. Its superintendent calls enrollment feedback.

Stacy Bradford Takes On a Larger Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Academy

Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Academy's enrollment rose sharply as Stacy Bradford became principal, with realignment and the school's magnet identity shaping the assignment.

East St. Louis Graduation Rate Rose 15.8 Points, Fifth Among 199 Illinois Districts

East St. Louis SD 189's four-year graduation rate rose from 68.7% to 84.5%, the fifth-largest gain among 199 Illinois districts with at least 100 graduates.

David Baker Centers Sustainability and Trust Across Plainfield and Cornish

Interim Superintendent David Baker says cooperation is imperative for two small New Hampshire districts confronting sustainability and trust.

Gaston County Cut Its Chronic Absence Rate Nearly in Half

Gaston County Schools went from a 41.2% peak to 23.6%, a 17.6-point drop and the strongest 2021-to-2024 recovery among NC districts with 25,000 to 40,000 students.

No Group Over 28%: Inside Saint Paul's Rare Balance

No racial group exceeds 28% of Saint Paul enrollment, the most even mix among Minnesota's large non-charter districts.

Kalem Grasham's First Project as Garrard County Superintendent Is an Enrollment Plan

Garrard County's new superintendent has spent his whole career in the district. He is drafting an enrollment plan after three straight years of decline in Kentucky's published record.

Jennifer Hawn Takes Over Cupertino Union as Enrollment Finally Steadies

The new superintendent arrives after months of studying the district from the outside, with four priorities, a bond program to deliver, and a trend line that has just stopped falling.

Huntsville's Chronic Absenteeism Is Now Lower Than Before COVID: A Rare Success Story

Huntsville City Schools has pushed its chronic absenteeism to 8.2%, more than 3 percentage points below its pre-COVID baseline, with eight of its ten tracked student groups now below where they were in 2018-19.

Logan City's Turnaround: From 78.8% to 92.4%, a 13.6-Point Climb That Outpaced the State

Logan City District dropped to 78.8% during COVID, then surged to 92.4% by 2025, now sitting 2.6 points above the state average in one of Utah's most diverse small districts.

Nyssa's Three In-Person Schools Cut Chronic Absence From 33.1% to 18.3%

Chronic absenteeism fell three years running across Nyssa's three in-person schools, and the superintendent describes the work behind it. The district-wide rate is not comparable.

Michael Gard Ties Hardin's Youngest Grades to Its Graduation Goals

Hardin's new superintendent wants early literacy and career pathways treated as one connected path, and the district's grade record shows why the entry point matters.

Greg Cole Inherits Minnesota's Largest District, and a Kindergarten Class 1,238 Students Behind Its Seniors

Anoka-Hennepin enrolls about one in every 23 Minnesota public school students and is almost exactly the size it was twelve years ago. Its new superintendent, promoted from chief operating officer, arrives to a flat total and a lopsided grade spine.

Only One in Four Louisiana Districts Has Recovered to Pre-Pandemic Attendance Levels

Only 36 of 139 Louisiana districts have returned to pre-COVID chronic absenteeism rates. The state remains 4.9 points above its 2019 baseline.

Shawn Poyser Moves From Interim to Permanent Superintendent in Tonganoxie

As Dr. Shawn Poyser settles into the permanent role, he points to relationships, budget discipline, and the district's community reputation.

Jennifer Thomas Brings a Career in Special Education to SEDOL and Its 31 Member Districts

SEDOL's new superintendent leads a cooperative of 31 Lake County districts that enrolled 68,411 students in 2025-26, 11,258 of them with IEPs. Jennifer Thomas says the cooperative's own programs enroll about 525.

Castle Rock's Turnaround: From 42% Chronically Absent to 19% in Three Years

Castle Rock School District cut its chronic absenteeism rate from 42.1% in 2022 to 19.3% in 2025, with improvements across five major reported student groups.

Maria King Centers Relationships as She Takes Charge at Wasatch Elementary

Maria King succeeds Julie Larsen as principal of Wasatch School in Davis District, taking over a K-6 campus whose enrollment has fallen sharply as she focuses on listening and relationships.

Portland's Attendance Turnaround: Biggest Improvement Among Oregon's Large Districts

Portland SD 1J dropped 4.4 points to 32.5% chronic absenteeism, the largest 2025 gain among Oregon districts with more than 10,000 students, and returned below the state average.

82 Kindergartners for Every 100 Seniors

Ohio's kindergarten enrollment has fallen below 12th grade for 12 straight years, with the gap widening to 25,505 students in 2026.

How a District of 1,000 Students Posted Nevada's Biggest Graduation Gain

Lander County's graduation rate jumped 24 points in three years, from 66.7% to 90.7%, with economically disadvantaged students gaining nearly 37 points.

15 NC Districts Hit All-Time Graduation Highs in 2024

North Carolina's statewide graduation rate was 87.0% in 2024, but 15 districts reached full-series highs and none hit a full-series low.

Minnesota Charter Enrollment Has a Different Racial Profile

Minnesota's 2025-26 charter sector was 31.8% Black, compared with 10.9% in traditional districts.

Louisiana's W-Shaped Attendance Crisis: The Recovery That Reversed

Louisiana's chronic absenteeism followed a W-shaped pattern after COVID, dropping sharply then reversing course. The state remains 4.9 points above pre-pandemic levels.

Dylan Smith Is Watching Walton-Verona's Housing Permits and Its Kindergarten Class

Walton-Verona's new superintendent is planning around Boone County growth that has not reached the enrollment file yet. The district has held inside a 58-student band for six years, and its kindergarten class is 26 students smaller than its senior class.

Smithton Held Its Enrollment While Illinois Lost 10 Percent

Tom Springborn became superintendent of Smithton CCSD 130 on July 1. The district enrolled 544 students in 2025-26 and held its size through a decade in which Illinois lost a tenth of its students.

Marnie Hazelton Comes Home to California to Lead Alum Rock

The three-time superintendent arrives from New Jersey with a 100-day listening plan, a push for Algebra readiness and dual-language growth, and a goal she names outright: enrollment growing again.

Deer Lakes Math Scores Climbed Four Years Running. Beth Hutson Is Starting With Reading.

Deer Lakes math proficiency rose four straight years while reading fell to a published low. Its new superintendent calls literacy a K-12 job.

Paquette Wants One School Culture at WTA

Daniel Paquette steps into Westfield Technical Academy's principal role with a focus on continuity, CTE-academic alignment, and capacity.

Muncie's Five-Year Comeback: From State Takeover to a 13-Point Graduation Surge

Muncie Community Schools posted five consecutive years of graduation rate improvement, gaining 13 points after being placed under state emergency management.

Des Moines Drops 17 Points in One Year — the Most Dramatic Turnaround in Iowa

Des Moines Independent went from 38.7% to 21.2% chronic absenteeism in a single year, removing 5,449 students from the chronically absent rolls.

Palm Beach: Florida's Largest District Beating the Chronic Absenteeism Average

With 204,048 students and a 23.4% chronic rate, Palm Beach County has the lowest chronic absenteeism among Florida's largest districts — 8 points below the state average.

Asian enrollment is California's only race line still climbing

Asian student enrollment rose 14% to 588,419 since 2008, reaching a 2008-2026 high as California lost more than 540,000 students.

Whiteriver Unified Cut Chronic Absence 24 Points

Whiteriver Unified's chronic-absence rate fell from 58.1% in 2022 to 34.2% in 2025, narrowing its gap with Arizona by 15.6 points.

A Mentor's Handoff in Satsuma: Heather Roe Steps Up at Lee Elementary

Heather Roe succeeds her mentor Suzanne Bahr as principal of Robert E. Lee Elementary, the larger school in a Satsuma City district that has grown while Alabama has not.

A Homecoming in Piedmont: Michele Downey Steps Into a Growing Elementary School

Michele Downey moves from assistant principal to principal at Piedmont Elementary, a campus that has grown while its district and the state have not.

Kodiak's Attendance Record Was Steadier Than Most, Not the Steadiest

Kodiak Island Borough's chronic-absence variability ranked fourth-lowest among 18 Alaska districts with at least 1,000 students, while its pandemic-era increase ranked sixth-smallest.

Blount County: 3.2% Chronic Absenteeism, Alabama's Attendance Champion

Blount County has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate of any traditional district in Alabama at 3.18%, below the state average every year since tracking began.

Tennessee's Graduation Rate for Students Experiencing Homelessness Reached 82.0% in 2025, Narrowing the Gap to 10.3 Points

Students experiencing homelessness in Tennessee graduated at 82.0% in 2025, up from 73.6% in 2018. The gap to the state average narrowed from 15.5 to 10.3 points on a growing cohort.

Kearsarge Chose Continuity With Michael Bessette as Superintendent

Kearsarge Regional elevated Michael Bessette to superintendent, choosing an experienced internal leader as enrollment reaches a new low.

20 Illinois Districts Cut Chronic Absenteeism Four Years in a Row

Only 20 of 785 Illinois districts with complete 2020-21 to 2024-25 data lowered chronic absenteeism every year. Rochelle Twp HSD 212 posted the largest drop among them, from 57.0% to 17.2%.

Eureka County: Nevada's Only District Below Its Pre-COVID Chronic-Absence Rate

With 325 students and three schools, Eureka County is the only one of Nevada's 17 traditional districts below its 2018-19 chronic-absence rate in the latest 2024-25 data.

Coahoma County's Journey: From 52% Graduation Rate to Above 90% for Three Straight Years

Coahoma County School District improved from a 51.7% graduation rate in 2014 to 90.7% in 2025, remaining above 90% for a third year.

Tara Lere Takes Over a Steadied South Koochiching, Two Years After Its Enrollment Reset

South Koochiching's new superintendent says the district's sharp 2023-24 enrollment drop reflects a building closure, not falling demand, and the count has held at 203 since.

Josh Blevins Brings a School Improvement Playbook to Henry County

Henry County Public Schools' new superintendent arrives from the Kentucky Department of Education, where he coached schools through the state's improvement program.

Kenndell Smith Inherits a CCSD 180 Whose Rebound Has Slipped Two Years Running

CCSD 180 lost about a third of its enrollment between 2014-15 and 2024-25, most of it across two years. It climbed back after 2020-21, then lost ground in each of the last two years on the state's fall count. A new superintendent started July 1.

Iowa City's Chronic Absence Fell Below Its Pre-COVID Level

Iowa City Community School District's chronic-absence rate fell from a 28.0% peak to 10.3% in 2024-25, below its 14.3% 2018-19 rate.

22 Colorado Districts Stayed Below the State Average in All Six Years

Among 92 districts with complete six-year coverage and at least 500 students each year, 22 stayed below Colorado's chronic absenteeism rate throughout.

Fresno Unified Reached a Five-Report High of 90.8%

Fresno Unified reached 90.8% in 2024-25, its highest rate across five California School Dashboard reports and 3.0 points above the state.

Fairbanks' Black Student Absence Rate Fell 23 Points From Its 2022 Peak

Fairbanks' Black student chronic-absence rate fell from 52.2% in 2022 to 29.2% in 2025, 7.3 points below the district total.

Hispanic Graduation Rate Gap Narrows to 5.1 Points, a 16-Year Low in Wyoming

The white-Hispanic graduation rate gap in Wyoming has been cut by two-thirds, from 15.5 points in 2010 to 5.1 points in 2025, the smallest of the 16 years of federal cohort data, and the closing comes entirely from Hispanic gains.

Hattiesburg's Graduation Rate Slipped to 90.7%, Erasing Its State Lead

Hattiesburg's four-year graduation rate fell to 90.7% for the 2024-25 senior cohort, nearly level with Mississippi after two declines from a 96.1% peak.

Darren Kern Puts Listening and Financial Grounding First in Le Sueur-Henderson's Interim Year

Le Sueur-Henderson's interim superintendent says relationships, student achievement and sound operations will guide a district that reported 908 students last school year after a long enrollment decline.

Michigan's Early Middle College Graduation Rate Rose After a 2021 Dip

The Early Middle College graduation rate reached 88.7% in 2025 after four consecutive gains, while its cohort remained above 2018 but below its 2022 peak.

Argonia's New Superintendent Also Runs the High School and Coaches the Football Team

Luke Greenwood took over after Argonia reported 142 students in 2025-26, while keeping the two jobs he already held. The state's staffing file shows why.

Monica Schroeder Takes Over After North Shore 112 Posted Its Lowest Enrollment on Record

North Shore School District 112 lost about a sixth of its students from 2014-15 through 2024-25 and fell again in 2025-26, the most recent published year, while its grade spine remained almost perfectly level.

Iowa's Meatpacking Belt: Storm Lake Stuck While Postville Bounces Back

Iowa's meatpacking communities show sharply divergent attendance recovery paths, with Storm Lake stalled at 23.9% and Postville fully recovered to 10.2%.

Tamala Maddox Rises From Founding Principal to Head of Schools at i3 Academy

Dr. Tamala Maddox, who opened i3 Academy's middle school and led its high school, now heads the growing Birmingham charter network.

Onamia's Graduation Rate Fell from 83% to 41.1% in Four Years

Onamia's published graduation rate declined in every year from 2020 through 2024, when 23 of 56 cohort members graduated on time.

Matthew Engel Says a Landlocked District Is a Predictable One

Erlanger-Elsmere has moved inside a 130-student band for six years. Its new superintendent, who grew up in the district and never wanted to lead anywhere else, says that predictability is what lets him plan.

John Price Brings a Principal-First Lens to Indian Prairie's Next Plan

Indian Prairie's new superintendent says strong principals, local listening and student learning will shape the district's next strategic plan.

Douglas County Is a Large-District Counterexample on Chronic Absenteeism

Colorado's third-largest district was below the state chronic-absence rate in every year from 2019-20 through 2024-25, showing that large districts do not share one attendance trajectory.

Montgomery County Cut Chronic Absence in 2024-25 but Remained Above 25%

Montgomery County cut chronic absenteeism by 3.25 points in 2024-25, but its 25.29% rate remained the highest among Alabama districts enrolling more than 10,000 students.

Tennessee's Gender Graduation Gap Is the Smallest Since the State Began Tracking It

The female-male graduation gap in Tennessee narrowed from 5.7 points in 2018 to 3.3 points in 2025, driven by male improvement of 4.4 points over seven years.

Hispanic Graduation Rates in Reading Jumped 19 Points While Allentown Stalled

Reading SD's Hispanic graduation rate jumped 19 points to 77%, a series high, while Allentown's fell to 67% from a 2022 peak of 80%.

How Montana Gained 4 Points in 4 Years -- and Why It Stopped

Montana's graduation rate climbed from 82.2% to 86.0% between 2011 and 2015 -- then flattened for four years and started declining. What happened?

Carl Schlueter Inherits a Spero Academy Whose Growth Lives in a Second Building

Spero Academy has nearly quadrupled since 2014-15. Almost all of the growth since 2022 is at a campus that did not exist before then, and its new executive director says he has run a two-campus school before.

Michigan's Black-white Graduation Gap Reached an 11-Point Low

Michigan's Black-white graduation gap narrowed from 25.1 points in 2007 to 11.0 in 2025, while district results show progress remains uneven.

Katie Reynolds Begins District 103 Tenure by Asking What Comes Next

The longtime curriculum leader is opening a strategic-planning process as District 103 weighs a smaller entering class, new technology, and the skills students will need next.

Cahokia's Graduation Rate, at 56.7%, Is the Lowest in Illinois

Cahokia CUSD 187 posted the lowest four-year graduation rate in Illinois in 2025 at 56.7%, with male students at 50.4% and female students at 63.2%, a 12.8-point gap.

Goshen County's 6-Year Decline Streak: From 87.7% to an All-Time Low of 75.8%

Goshen #1 in Torrington has the longest active decline streak in Wyoming, six consecutive years of falling graduation rates ending at an all-time low of 75.8% in 2025.

Bellevue's 2024-25 Graduation Rate Fell to 87.7%

Bellevue School District's four-year graduation rate fell to 87.7% in 2024-25, down nearly seven points from its 2020-21 peak. Students experiencing homelessness fell furthest among the published subgroups.

Tennessee's Poverty Graduation Gap Narrowed 6.6 Points From 2021 to 2025

Tennessee's four-year graduation gap between free/reduced-price lunch and other students fell from 12.9 points in 2021 to 6.3 in 2025.

Cuyahoga County's 2024-25 Chronic Absence Rates Spanned 50.2 Points

Across 31 Cuyahoga County districts, 2024-25 chronic absenteeism ranged from 6.5% to 56.7%, a 50.2-point spread.

Marion Anastasia Brings a Listening-First Plan to Littleton

Littleton's new superintendent is pairing regional experience with a careful review of enrollment, staffing, programs, and shared services.

Louisa Glenetske Says Steady Enrollment Is What Protects Osakis's Small Classes

Osakis has stayed inside a 71-student band for twelve years. Its new superintendent, who began her education in the district and whose children attend it, says that steadiness is what buys the school its small class sizes.

Ryan Wollberg Builds Grass Lake's Next Chapter Around Relationships and Real-World Learning

Grass Lake's new superintendent inherits a one-school district that grew while Illinois shrank, then stepped back from a recent peak.

Poudre R-1 Posted Colorado's Biggest Large-District Drop in Chronic Absenteeism

Fort Collins' 29,461-student district cut its chronic absenteeism rate by 3.5 percentage points in 2024-25, the largest improvement among Colorado districts enrolling at least 20,000 students.

All 14 Comparable Tacoma Subgroups Improved Since 2016

Tacoma's four-year graduation rate rose from 85.0% to 91.4% between 2016 and 2025, and all 14 subgroups with data in both years improved.

Hamilton County's Graduation Rate Rose 10.4 Points in Nine Years

Hamilton County's graduation rate rose from 83.8% in 2015-16 to 94.2% in 2024-25 while the graduating cohort grew.

Montana's English Learners Improved Fastest Through 2020, but One in Three Still Did Not Graduate on Time

English Learner students gained 8.9 percentage points in graduation rate from 2011 to 2020, outpacing every other subgroup in Montana, and still finished the series at 65.4%.

Mike Tatsey Returns to Lead Heart Butte's Next Chapter

Heart Butte K-12 Schools' returning superintendent is pairing institutional memory with a rebuilding agenda after a sharp enrollment contraction.

DeSoto County Holds at 97.1% as Seven High Schools Top 96%

DeSoto County posted a 97.1% graduation rate in Mississippi's 2026 accountability report, with seven of its eight high schools above 96%.

Dearborn's 2025 Graduation Rate Was 93%, Seventh Among Large Districts

Dearborn City School District rose from 76.8% in 2007 to 93.0% in 2025, ranking seventh among Michigan districts with cohorts of at least 1,000 students.

Rockford's Graduation Rate Rose 12.6 Points Over Four Years

Rockford SD 205's four-year graduation rate rose from 64.4% in 2021 to 77.0% in 2025, a 12.6-point increase over four years.

Terrance Sanders Wants Flossmoor 161 to Become a Destination District

Flossmoor School District 161 ended 2024-25 within 2 percent of its 2014-15 size while Illinois lost a tenth of its students. Its new superintendent says the opportunity is to build on that foundation.

Manitou Springs Cut Chronic Absenteeism 16 Points in Two Years

The district's chronic absenteeism rate fell from 31.6% to 15.6% between 2022-23 and 2024-25, while three high school grades posted rates below one-third of their statewide comparisons.

Wyoming's CTE Concentrators Made Up a Majority of the 2025 Cohort

CTE concentrators made up 51.1% of Wyoming's 2025 four-year cohort and graduated at 94.9%; the measured gap with non-concentrators widened as CTE participation grew.

Seattle's Graduation Rate Rose 10.5 Points, Then Fell for Two Years

Seattle's four-year graduation rate rose from 77.5% in 2016 to 88.0% in 2023, then fell to 86.1% in 2025.

Tennessee's Special Education Graduation Gap Fell by More Than Half

The gap narrowed from 20.3 points in 2015 to 9.2 in 2025 as the special education graduation rate rose 14.2 points.

Rhode Island's Four-Year Dropout Rate Fell 46% Between 2010 and 2024

Rhode Island's four-year dropout rate fell from 14.12% to 7.65% between the 2010 and 2024 reporting years, though service-group gaps remain.

Lauren Thomas Starts With Listening as Cresskill Enrollment Rebounds

Cresskill's new superintendent puts listening, facilities and transitions first as enrollment rises from a recent low but remains below its peak.

Gretna Led Nebraska's Large Districts With a 99.3% Graduation Rate

Gretna graduated 414 of 417 students on time in 2025, ranking first among 11 Nebraska districts with cohorts of at least 400 students.

Vicksburg-Warren Graduation Rate Reaches 91.3% After 32.4-Point Gain Since 2014

Vicksburg-Warren's graduation rate rose 32.4 points from the 2014 to 2026 accountability reports, despite a 1.6-point decline in the latest release.

Missouri Charter LEAs' Chronic Absence Rates Spanned 70.1 Points in 2024-25

Missouri's 37 charter LEAs reported chronic absence rates from 0.0% to 70.1% in 2024-25, with a median of 41.3% against 15.2% for school districts.

118 Minnesota Districts Stayed Below the State Chronic Absence Rate Across Four Reports

A corrected ID-based screen finds 118 Minnesota districts below the state chronic absenteeism rate in each report from 2020-21 through 2023-24.

Michigan's Graduation Rate for Students With Disabilities Has Climbed 6.8 Points Since 2016

Michigan's special education graduation rate rose 6.8 points from 2016 to 2025, narrowing its gap with the statewide rate by 2.4 points.

Grand Rapids Went From Graduating 45% of Its Students to 83%

Grand Rapids Public Schools climbed from a 44.6% graduation rate trough in 2012 to 83.2% in 2025, matching Detroit and closing to within one point of the state average.

Bill Heiser Returns to Baltimore County as Enrollment Planning Enters a New Phase

William Heiser returns to lead Baltimore County as K-12 enrollment reaches an available-record low and grade bands point to uneven planning pressures.

Heather Stapp Sees Teamwork in Ness City's Small Size as Enrollment Edges Up

Ness City's new superintendent centers relationships and shared responsibility as enrollment rises from a recent low but remains below 2015.

English Learners Led Every Illinois Subgroup With an 8.3-Point Graduation Gain

English learners gained 8.3 percentage points in Illinois' four-year graduation rate from 2019 to 2025, leading every reported statewide subgroup with both endpoints and narrowing the gap with all students from 14.2 to 8.7 points.

Angie Summers Builds Standard's Next Chapter on Attendance Gains and Literacy

Angie Summers begins leading Standard with attendance improving, literacy still uneven and trust at the center of her agenda.

Loudoun County's Absenteeism Nearly Quadrupled in Two Years

Loudoun County's count of students who were chronically absent surged from 4,094 to 15,284 between 2020-21 and 2022-23, bringing its published rate close to the state average.

Jackson Public Schools Recovered, But Still Trails the State

Jackson Public Schools' graduation rate rose from 65.1% in 2014 to 85.4% in 2026, a 20.3-point gain and a series high. The district remains 5.4 points below Mississippi's 90.8% state rate.

Tenderly Logan Brings a Whole-Child Focus to Upper Lake Unified

Upper Lake Unified's new superintendent centers collaboration, student support and financial stability in a small rural district.

Special Education Graduation Rates Rose Nearly 12 Points in a Decade. The Gap Has Narrowed.

Alabama's special education graduation rate climbed from 66.6% to 78.4% over a decade, narrowing the gap with the overall rate.

Did Act 158's Five Graduation Pathways Change the Game in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's graduation rate ticked up after Act 158 created five pathways to a diploma, but without pathway-level data it is impossible to measure the effect.

Cherie Horner Starts With Listening at Kenowa Hills

Kenowa Hills Public Schools' new superintendent is pairing deep district experience with a listening-first approach across a 6-campus system.

Miami-Dade Reaches 91.8%, With the Smallest FRL Gap Among Florida's 10 Largest Cohorts

Miami-Dade's graduation rate reached a nine-year high of 91.8% in 2024, while its 0.6-point FRL gap was the smallest among Florida's 10 largest cohorts.

Sonjhia Lowery Takes Over Pittsburg Unified After Chronic Absence Falls 9 Points

Sonjhia Lowery begins leading Pittsburg Unified after chronic absence fell 9 points, with relationships, instruction and support guiding her agenda.

Native American Graduation Gains Lead Washington's Racial Groups, but the Gap Persists

Native American students posted the largest graduation rate gain of any racial or ethnic group in Washington since 2016. Much of the 10.3-point jump came during COVID.

One in Four Texas Special Education Students Chronically Absent

Texas special education students had a 25.0% chronic-absence rate in 2022-23, down from 31.6% in 2021-22 but above 16.9% in 2018-19. The gap with all students was 4.7 points.

Nashville's Graduation Rate Fell in 2025 as Tennessee Reached a Ten-Year High

Davidson County's graduation rate fell from 85.7% to 83.6% in 2025, while Tennessee reached 92.3%, the highest in its published series. Hispanic students in Nashville graduated at 73.2%.

Springboro vs. Lorain: Same Size, 50-Point Gap in Chronic Absenteeism

Springboro (9.1% chronic absenteeism, 5,763 students) and Lorain (59.2%, 6,070 students) are nearly identical in size but separated by a 50-point attendance gap.

Elizabeth Kennedy Brings a Whole-Child Focus to Pawling's Top Job

Elizabeth Kennedy begins as Pawling superintendent with an inclusion-centered career and a strong district baseline in inclusive settings.

Nearly One in Three SpEd Students Still Not Graduating on Time

Hawaii's SpEd graduation rate hit a record 68.1% in 2025, but a 32.7-point spread across complex areas shows how uneven the progress is.

Tinisha Hamberlin Organizes Eastside Union Around Four First-Year Goals

Tinisha Hamberlin starts Eastside Union's superintendency with four goals and a classroom-level test for whether the district's systems are aligned.

Mobile County Cut Chronic Absenteeism by More Than Half in Two Years

Mobile County's chronic absenteeism rate plunged from 31.5% to 12.8% in two years, the sharpest recovery of any large Alabama district, now below pre-COVID levels.

Shane Hazenstab Begins at Penns Valley With Trust and District Value in Focus

Penns Valley's new superintendent says relationships come first as he enters a district with a long enrollment decline.

Nevada's Graduation Rate Stuck at 81% for Four Straight Years

From 2021 to 2024, Nevada's four-year graduation rate moved just 0.4 points while the national average pulled further away at 87%.

Will Pfannenstiel Starts With Listening as Arkansas City Plans Its Next Chapter

Arkansas City's new superintendent brings deep district experience to bond work, strategic planning and an uneven enrollment path.

Bloomingdale Held Its Enrollment for a Decade. Its New Superintendent Inherits the Year That Changed.

Vicki King takes over a district that beat the statewide decline outright, then fell four years running. Its kindergarten class is half the size of its eighth grade.

Smyrna: Below the State Average Across a Decade of Data

Smyrna School District stayed below Delaware's chronic absenteeism rate in every available data year since 2015 and ranked lowest among the state's 5,000-plus-student district systems in 2024-25.

Wisconsin's Only Long-Run Growth Region Has Declined Since 2020

CESA 2 gained 5,793 students from 2006 to 2025, but five consecutive annual declines have changed the region's planning questions.

Ashley Bugbee Takes Oxford's Top Job With Graduation Holding Above 94%

Ashley Bugbee became Oxford's superintendent as graduation remained above the Kansas rate and enrollment pulled back from a recent high.

John Consolino Takes Regional Schools Role as Southern Illinois Enrollment Shrinks

ROE 13's new regional superintendent inherits a service area where public-district enrollment fell 9.3% over a decade and kept falling in 2025-26.

Moorhead's Chronic-Absence Rate Rebounded to 35.5% in 2023-24

Moorhead's chronic-absence rate fell to 21.1% in 2021-22, then rose to 35.5% in 2023-24; Moorhead High School was at 65.4%.

Aurora East Improved for Six Straight Annual Transitions, Reaching 90.5%

Aurora East USD 131 improved across six consecutive annual transitions, rising from 66.6% in 2019 to 90.5% in 2025.

Texas English Learner Attendance Advantage Was Not Persistent Statewide

Texas English learners had a chronic absence rate just above the statewide average in 2023, after running below it in 2019 and 2020.

Yonkers' Chronic Absenteeism Fell from Its Peak but Remained More Than Twice 2019

Yonkers' chronic absenteeism rate fell from 49.0% in 2022 to 44.8% in 2024, but remained 25.1 points above 2019.

Fifty-Seven Washington Districts Cut Chronic Absence Every Year Since the 2022 Peak

Washington's chronic absenteeism rate fell one tenth of a point in 2025, but 57 districts enrolling 500 or more students cut their rate in each of the past three years.

April Becherer Now Runs the District She Was Already the Principal Of

High Mount SD 116 is one school and 323 students. Its new superintendent has spent years in the building, and says her first priority is to listen anyway.

St. Joseph Followed Four Annual Declines With a 14.5-Point Graduation-Rate Jump

St. Joseph's graduation rate fell from 83.0% to 77.0% across four annual declines, then rose 14.5 points in 2024 and reached 92.2% in 2025.

Missouri's FRL Chronic Absenteeism Gap Reached 8.6 Points in 2024-25

Missouri's FRL chronic absenteeism gap was 8.6 percentage points in 2024-25, up from 4.7 points in 2014-15, after a 10.4-point peak in 2021-22.

Kimo Carter Opens His Holliston Tenure With a Listening Tour

Holliston Superintendent Kimo Carter outlines a listening tour as 2025-26 data show rising special education service demand.

Amphitheater Cut Chronic Absenteeism by 20 Points and Moved Below Arizona's Rate

Amphitheater Unified's chronic absenteeism rate fell from 42.8% to 22.5% across three annual transitions, outpacing Arizona's recovery.

Doug Dearden Returns to Trout Lake, Seven Years After Retiring From the Same Job

Doug Dearden returns to lead Trout Lake, watching high school enrollment as students weigh Running Start, online school and work-based programs.

Virginia Kindergarten Chronic Absence Reached 25.2%, Second Only to Grade 12

Virginia's published kindergarten chronic-absence rate rose to 25.2% in 2022-23, up 10.2 points from 2019-20 and second only to grade 12.

Female Students Cross 90% for the First Time as Pennsylvania's Gender Gap Holds Steady

Female students in PA crossed the 90% graduation threshold for the first time in 2024 while the gender gap has remained stable at roughly 4 points for 13 years.

Special Education Graduation Rate Hasn't Budged in 16 Years: 62.9% in 2010, 62.8% in 2025

Wyoming's 4-year graduation rate for students receiving special education services was 62.8% in 2024-25, essentially where it stood in 2009-10, while the groups that started even further behind gained 9 to 17 points.

3,510 Washington English Learners Didn't Graduate on Time in 2024-25

Washington's English-learner four-year graduation rate fell 3.2 points from its 2022-23 peak to 2024-25 as the LEP cohort grew 134.2% from 2015-16.

Texas Charter Districts' 2023 Chronic-Absence Mean Was 52% Higher

Published district-rate means were 24.4% for Texas charter districts and 16.0% for traditional districts in 2023. The 8.4-point gap sat between a 0.0% and 87.1% charter rate.

Tennessee's English Learners Gained 11.5 Points in Two Years — But the Gap Is Still 13.7

Tennessee's English-learner graduation rate rose from 67.1% in 2023 to 78.6% in 2025, while the gap to the state average remained 13.7 points.

Ohio's Poverty Attendance Gap Is Narrowing — But It Remains 14 Points

The gap between Ohio's economically disadvantaged and white students narrowed from 20.2 to 14.2 points since 2022, while the economically disadvantaged rate fell from 44.4% to 33.3%.

New York's Economic-Disadvantage Attendance Gap Was Wider in 2024 Than Before COVID

New York's chronic-absence gap between economically disadvantaged students and all students widened between 2018-19 and 2023-24.

Stacey Parks Takes Over Peabody-Burns as Enrollment Sits 25% Below Its 2014-15 Level

Stacey Parks became superintendent of Peabody-Burns after leading a special education cooperative. The district's published enrollment is down 25% from 2014-15.

Hispanic Students in Alabama Have Lower Chronic Absenteeism Than White Students

Hispanic students in Alabama have lower chronic absenteeism than white students in five of seven years and in 96 of 132 school districts.

Patty Brown Returns to Northumberland as School Business Enters a New Era

Patty Brown returned to SAU 58 as executive director with priorities around affordability, sustainability and local control as Northumberland's enrollment declines.

Missouri's Suburban Attendance Rates Remain Above Pre-COVID Levels

Four Missouri suburban districts remained above their 2018-19 chronic-absence rates in 2024-25; North Kansas City 74 and Pattonville also worsened over the latest two-year comparison.

Illinois Attendance Recovery Slowed in 2024-25

Illinois's chronic absenteeism rate improved by 0.9 percentage points in 2024-25, down from a 2.0-point improvement the year before.

Toshiba Pugh Puts Staffing, Cleanliness and Safety First in Osceola

After a career across the district, Toshiba Pugh says families should see improvement in staffing, cleanliness and safety as she leads Osceola through sustained enrollment decline.

Montana's Graduation Rate Has Never Reached 90%. Four Subgroup Gaps Account for the Distance

In 14 years of four-year cohort data, Montana's statewide graduation rate has never reached 90%. Four groups of students graduating 13 to 25 points below the threshold account for the distance.

Mississippi's Graduation Report Shows Broad District Gains

Ninety-seven Mississippi districts improved, 79 reached at least 90%, and seven remained below 80% in the state's latest graduation report.

Minneapolis: Nearly Half of Students Were Chronically Absent at COVID Peak

Minneapolis chronic absenteeism peaked at 47.0% in 2021-22 and fell to 31.7% by 2023-24, still 10.3 points above Minnesota.

Petersburg's Chronic Absenteeism Has Climbed Every Year Since 2019-20, Reaching 43%

Petersburg City's chronic absenteeism rate rose every year from 28.2% in 2019-20 to 43.1% in 2022-23.

19 Pennsylvania Districts Graduate Below 70%, and 15 of Them Are Charter Schools

Of 19 PA districts with sub-70% graduation rates in 2024, 15 are charter or cyber charter schools, raising questions about accountability frameworks.

The Poverty Gap Is Closing: Economically Disadvantaged Students Gained 5.4 Points

The gap between all Illinois students and economically disadvantaged students narrowed from 7.9 to 5.3 percentage points between 2019 and 2025, a 33% reduction built on a 5.4-point gain for economically disadvantaged students against 2.8 points for all students.

Students in Foster Care Graduate at 51.4% in Wyoming, the Widest Gap of Any Subgroup

Students in foster care had Wyoming's lowest published 2025 graduation rate, 51.4%, with a 31.7-point gap below the state average.

Washington's Hispanic Graduation Gap Reverses Course

After narrowing for most of a decade, the white-Hispanic graduation gap widened 3.7 points in three years. A growing cohort makes the stall costlier.

San Antonio's Edgewood ISD: More Than Half of Students Chronically Absent

Edgewood ISD's chronic absence rate reached 53.6% in 2023 while San Antonio ISD and Texas improved.

Tennessee's Graduation Rate for Students in Foster Care Rose 8 Points in Three Years, to 56.9%

Tennessee's graduation rate for students in foster care rose from 48.7% to 56.9% since 2023. The 35.4-point gap to the state average is the state's widest.

Charleston Tries Paying Families $25 a Week to Send Kids to School

Charleston County's $25-per-week attendance pilot at 10 schools comes as its chronic absenteeism rate improved from 24.4% to 20.5%, still above the 2022 level.

Eleven Missouri Districts Where At Least Half of Students Were Chronically Absent

Eleven of 557 Missouri districts had chronic absenteeism at or above 50% in 2024-25, ranging from 50.4% in Normandy to 70.1% at Kairos Academies.

Michigan's Graduation Rate Rose 3.4 Points; Foster-Care Rate Rose 1.2

Michigan's all-students graduation rate rose 3.4 points from 2018 to 2025, while the foster-care rate rose 1.2 points to 41.6%.

58 Louisiana Systems Just Hit Record Enrollment Lows

58 of 79 traditional parish and city school systems recorded their lowest enrollment in the 2019-2026 data window, including seven of the 10 largest.

More Than Four in Ten Minnesota Economically Disadvantaged Students Were Chronically Absent

In 2020-21, 40.6% of Minnesota students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were chronically absent, 19.1 points above the statewide rate; subgroup breakdowns are available only for that year.

Erie Wasn't Pennsylvania's Only Large District in Decline. It Was Second-Worst.

Fourteen large traditional Pennsylvania districts declined from 2011 to 2024. Wilkes-Barre Area fell the most; Erie fell the second-most.

CPS at 82.5%: Illinois' Largest District Trails the State by 6.5 Points

Chicago Public Schools graduated 82.5% of students in 2025, up 6 points since 2019 but still trailing the state average by 6.5 points. CPS's White-Black gap is narrower than the state's.

Ohio's County Attendance Divide: 6.2% in Putnam, 32.1% in Cuyahoga

Enrollment-weighted Ohio chronic absenteeism rates ranged from 6.2% in Putnam County to 32.1% in Cuyahoga County in 2024-25.

Randolph County Has Topped West Virginia's Graduation Rate Eight Years Running. Derek Lambert Starts With Reading and Math.

Derek Lambert took over Randolph County Schools on July 1. Graduation and attendance beat the state every year on record; test scores are the gap.

Eric Hoops Arrives at Waconda, Where Students Have Outscored Kansas Every Tested Year

Waconda's new superintendent starts in a district whose students have topped the Kansas assessment in every subject on record. His first priority is relationships.

Ascension Parish Has Not Broken 16% in Six Years

Among Louisiana's largest parishes, Ascension stands alone for chronic absenteeism consistency: below the state average every year since 2019, with a standard deviation of just 2.1 points.

The Native American Graduation Reversal: Montana's Post-2021 Slide Erases Six Years of Progress

Montana's Native American graduation rate peaked at 69.2% in 2021, then dropped 3.1 points to 66.1% by 2023, its steepest slide on record.

Minnesota's Chronic Absence Rate Improved 0.8 Points. 28 of 295 Districts Hit Four-Year Highs

Minnesota's chronic absence rate improved 0.8 points in 2023-24, while 28 of 295 strict four-year-panel districts reached highs.

Shay Demlow Wants Eureka's Size to Be Its Strength

Eureka USD 389's new superintendent brings a special education career to a 523-student district, and says small-town scale is an advantage worth protecting.

Nearly Half of Virginia's Students Identified as Homeless Were Chronically Absent in 2022-23

VDOE reports a 49.1% chronic absence rate for students identified as homeless in 2022-23, about two and a half times the statewide rate and the highest of any student group the state reports.

Pennsylvania's Special Education Graduation Gap Narrowed Less Than One Point Since 2017

Pennsylvania's special education graduation rate reached 76% in 2024, while its gap with all students narrowed from 12.9 to 12.0 points over seven years.

Three Thousand More Students in Missouri's Graduation Pipeline

Missouri's graduating class grew by 3,048 students since 2019 while the graduation rate rose, producing nearly 4,000 additional on-time graduates per year.

Only 61% of Students in Foster Care Graduate in Illinois, the Widest Gap in the Data

Students in foster care graduate at 61.3% in Illinois, nearly 28 points below the state average, the widest gap of any student group. In Chicago, the rate drops to 43.9%.

Fifty West Virginia Counties Improved Attendance; Pocahontas Fell 1.4 Points

Pocahontas County's 2024-25 attendance rate was 1.4 percentage points below 2021-22, the largest shortfall among five West Virginia counties that had not recovered.

A Fifth Year Added 2,084 Washington Graduates to the Class of 2024

Washington's Class of 2024 graduation rate rose from 82.8% after four years to 85.1% after five, with larger gains for students with disabilities, foster students, and English learners.

Uvalde CISD's Chronic Absenteeism Reached 47.4% in 2022-23

Uvalde CISD reported 1,731 chronically absent students in 2022-23, producing a rate 27.1 percentage points above the Texas average.

84% of Oregon Districts Have Chronic Absenteeism Rates at or Above 25%

Oregon's attendance crisis is not concentrated in a few struggling districts. 154 of 184 districts reported rates at or above 25% in 2024-25, and 156 did when each district is measured on the schools whose attendance the state publishes.

Cleveland Reversed Two Years of Attendance Gains in 2024-25

Cleveland's chronic absenteeism rate jumped 4.2 points to 55.7% in 2024-25 after falling from 62.3% to 51.5% over three years. Every subgroup worsened.

Greenwood 52 Cut Chronic Absenteeism to 7.8%

Greenwood 52's published chronic-absenteeism rate fell from 14.0% to 7.8% in one year, while South Carolina's rate was 22.3%.

Seven ND Reservation-Area Districts Rebounded in 2025—but All Trailed the State

The seven districts in this comparison with 2025 data raised their combined graduation rate from 70.1% to 79.6%, but none reached North Dakota's 84.2% rate.

Alabama's Chronic Absence Rate Fell Again; Barbour County Moved the Other Way

Alabama's chronic absence rate fell for a second year, while Barbour County rose 10.5 points to the state's highest published district rate.

Southeast Island Returned Below Its 2019 Absenteeism Rate, One of Six Alaska Districts

Southeast Island's chronic absenteeism rate fell to 22.8%, 3.9 points below 2019, the second-widest recovery margin among six Alaska districts.

St. Louis City and Kansas City Both Remained Above 50% Chronic Absence

St. Louis City and Kansas City 33 each reported chronic-absence rates above 50% for a second consecutive year in 2024-25.

Five Covenant Academies, 631 Students, and Graduation Rates Below 22%

Michigan's 2025 file shows five Covenant-branded charter academies with a combined cohort of 631 and graduation rates from 3.0% to 21.2%.

Alabama Still Enrolls More Kindergartners Than Seniors, but the Margin Is Narrower

Alabama's 2025-26 kindergarten class remains larger than grade 12 statewide, while district entry-exit balances point in different directions.

Valdez posts Alaska's third-largest chronic-absence decline

Valdez City School District cut chronic absenteeism by 25.6 percentage points from 2022 to 2025, the third-largest decline among 49 Alaska districts with positive rates reported at both endpoints.

Special Education in Montana: A Decade Stuck at 75%

Montana's special education graduation rate has bounced between 69% and 81% for a decade without sustained improvement, stuck at what amounts to a 75% ceiling.

Rochester Improved Attendance Faster Than Minnesota Since 2021-22, but Still Led Large Districts in Chronic Absence

Rochester's chronic-absence rate fell 8.9 points to 31.8%, narrowing its statewide gap while remaining highest among Minnesota districts with at least 10,000 students.

118 Virginia Divisions Had Higher Chronic Absence in 2022-23 Than in 2019-20

Only 12 of 130 comparable Virginia school divisions were at or below their 2019-20 chronic absenteeism rate in 2022-23, and those divisions enrolled 2.8% of students in the comparison.

Texas Reports Graduation Rates for Every Racial Group. The Black-White Gap Has Barely Moved.

Texas publishes graduation rates for every racial group. Black students graduated at 86.9% in 2024, 7.5 points below white students, a gap that has barely moved in five years.

79 Pennsylvania Districts Hit All-Time High Graduation Rates in 2024

79 Pennsylvania districts reached record-high graduation rates in 2024 while 26 hit personal lows, with most districts graduating above 90 percent and the top-to-bottom gap slowly narrowing.

57% of Nebraska District Rows Hit 95%, but They Enrolled 28% of the Cohort

Nebraska had 128 district graduation rows at 95% or higher in 2025, but those districts represented 28.2% of the students in the usable district-row cohort.

Boone County Was Below 90% Attendance in Six of Eight Years

Boone County reported an 88.7% attendance rate in 2024-25; seven of its 12 schools and all three high schools were below 90%.

89.8% of Texas Districts Remained Above Their 2019 Absence Rate

A fixed comparison found 1,066 of 1,187 Texas district-level systems above their 2019 chronic absenteeism rate in 2023.

More Than Half of Columbus Students Were Chronically Absent

Columbus improved to a 52.6% chronic absenteeism rate in 2024-25, while Cleveland and Cincinnati reversed course.

97% of Sizable New York Districts Remained Above Their 2019 Absence Rate

Among 571 New York districts with at least 500 students at both endpoints, 17 had a 2024 chronic absenteeism rate at or below their 2019 rate.

Lee County Cut Chronic Absence 8.3 Points While Six Peers Rose

Lee County's chronic absence rate fell from 33.4% to 25.1% as six comparison districts rose; Dennis Elementary fell 44.1 points.

Alabama's Black-White Absence Gap Was 5.3 Times Its 2019 Size

Alabama's Black-White chronic-absence gap grew from 0.63 point in 2019 to 3.31 points in 2025, after peaking at 6.55 points in 2022.

Alaska's White-Native Graduation Gap Was 17.8 Points

White students posted an 85.8% four-year graduation rate in 2025, compared with 68.0% for Alaska Native students, the widest gap among six other reported race groups.

Addison Central's Chronic-Absence Rate Fell 13.7 Points, Vermont's Largest Reported Drop

Addison Central's chronic-absence rate fell from 32.7% to 19.0% in 2023-24, the largest decline among 33 Vermont district IDs with usable rates in both years.

Most Stable Texas Districts Grew, Yet State Enrollment Fell by 47,195

Texas enrollment fell 47,195 in 2026 as stable districts above 10,000 students lost ground while smaller systems gained overall.

Only Clover and Rock Hill Improved Chronic Absenteeism Every Year in the Available Panel

Clover and Rock Hill were the only two of 77 complete South Carolina district-level series to improve chronic absenteeism every year.

New Jersey's White and Hispanic Enrollment Shares Are 1.3 Points Apart

White students were 36.5% of New Jersey enrollment and Hispanic students were 35.2% in 2025-26, narrowing a once-wide gap.

Ten Districts Account for 74% of North Dakota's Stable-Panel Enrollment Gains

North Dakota enrollment grew 23.7% since 2008, but ten continuously reported districts produced 74.2% of gains in the stable panel.

Six St. Louis-Area Districts Improved. Eight Still Exceed 39% Chronic Absence

Six high-absence St. Louis-area districts improved after 2021-22, but eight still reported rates from 39.6% to 57.1% in 2024-25.

Alabama's White-Black Graduation Gap Ended Near Where It Began

Alabama's White-Black graduation-rate gap was 4.1 points in 2015 and 4.2 points in 2025, although annual gaps ranged from 3.0 to 4.7 points.

Montana's Graduation Gender Gap: Boys Have Trailed Girls for 13 Straight Years

Montana's female students have outperformed males in graduation rates every year since 2011, with an average gap of 3.6 percentage points.

A 16-District Delta Panel Cut Its Graduation Gap to 1.5 Points

A 16-district Delta county-name panel averaged an 88.7% graduation rate in 2026, narrowing its gap with other Mississippi districts to 1.5 points.

Brian Lile Puts School Culture First in Muhlenberg County

The lifelong Muhlenberg County resident says listening, relationships, and understanding why families choose other options will shape his first year as superintendent.

Rhode Island's Five-Year Graduation Rate Reaches 70.8% for Students Receiving Special Education Services

Rhode Island's five-year graduation measure is 6.0 points higher for students receiving special education services, though a gap remains.

320 California Districts Held or Grew Enrollment as the Statewide Loss Accelerated

Among 1,004 stable-ID districts with published totals at both endpoints, 320 enrolled at least as many students in 2025-26 as in 2018-19. Statewide enrollment fell by 74,961 in the latest year.

Virginia's Chronic Absenteeism Rate Remained at 19.3% in 2022-23

Virginia counted 236,104 chronically absent students in 2022-23, down 8,898 from the prior year but far above the 2019-20 count.

Pennsylvania's CTE Centers Are Graduating Nearly Everyone: 97.9% Weighted Rate

Ten Pennsylvania career and technical education centers with cohorts of at least 50 students posted a 97.9% weighted graduation rate in 2024, with two centers at or above 99%.

Four Vulnerable Oregon Student Groups Trailed the State Graduation Rate

In 2025, graduation rates for incarcerated, pregnant or parenting, foster-care, and homeless students ranged from 42.9% to 62.5%, below Oregon's 83.0% statewide rate.

A 26-Point Graduation Gap Separates Normandy and Clayton

Normandy graduated 73.3 percent of its 2025 cohort on time, 26.2 percentage points below Clayton's rate.

Black Graduation Gains Narrowed Illinois' White-Black Gap to 9.5 Points

Black students' graduation rate gained 6.4 points from 2019 to 2025, narrowing Illinois' white-Black gap from 14.3 to 9.5 points.

Florida's Below-80 to Above-90 Graduation-Rate Group Grew From Eight Districts to 17

Seventeen of 34 Florida districts that began below 80% in 2016 finished above 90% in 2025, up from eight districts one year earlier.

Wyoming Hits 83.1% Graduation High -- But Trails the Latest National Benchmark

Wyoming's 4-year graduation rate hit 83.1% in 2024-25, the high in the state's available 2010-2025 package series, with the largest cohort and most graduates in that window.

West Virginia's Special Ed Attendance Gap Has Not Budged in Eight Years

Special education students attend at 91.3% — a persistent 1-point gap below the state average that existed before COVID and hasn't narrowed since. With SpEd approaching 1 in 5 students, the gap affects a growing share of the system.

Washington's Foster-Care Graduation Gap Was 31.4 Points in 2025

Washington's foster-care four-year graduation rate was 51.3% in 2025, 31.4 percentage points below the all-student rate.

Texas Free/Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility Stayed Near 60% for 13 School Years

From 2012-13 through 2024-25, Texas's published free/reduced-price lunch rate stayed between 58.8% and 62.3%.

Tennessee's Hispanic Graduation Cohort Doubled. The Gap Remains.

Tennessee's Hispanic graduation cohort has more than doubled since 2018, but the 2025 Hispanic graduation rate still trails the state average by 6.1 points.

Oregon's High Schools Are Stuck at 42.5% Chronic Absenteeism While Elementary Recovers

Elementary chronic absenteeism dropped 8 points from peak. High school dropped 1.2 points. Oregon's attendance recovery is happening in grades K-5, not 9-12.

Nine Ohio Districts Had Chronic-Absence Rates Above 50%

Nine Ohio districts reported chronic absenteeism rates above 50% in 2024-25; rounded rate-times-enrollment calculations estimate 53,798 affected students.

More Than One in Four Special Education Students Is Chronically Absent

Special education students in MA miss school at 26.5%, 7.7 points above the overall rate. The gap predates COVID, widened during the pandemic, and has barely narrowed since.

Indiana's Native American Graduation Rate Rose Just 1.9 Points From 2014 to 2025

Indiana's Native American graduation rate rose 1.9 points from 2014 to 2025, while the white-Native American gap narrowed only 0.2 point.

Hawaii's Grade 9 Total Is 20% Larger Than Kindergarten

The 2025-26 grade 9 total exceeded prior-year grade 8 by 1,283 students, but aggregate counts cannot identify who entered or from where.

Special Education Graduation Rate Breaks 77%, but Gap Persists

California's special education graduation rate reached 77.1% in 2025, but the gap with the state average remains 10.7 points.

16 Washington Districts Moved From at Least 40% Chronic Absence to Below 30%

Sixteen Washington school districts with at least 500 students moved from chronic-absence rates of at least 40% in 2022 to below 30% in 2025.

Virginia Graduates 13,000 More Than It Enrolls as Kindergartners

For eight straight school years, Virginia has had more seniors than kindergartners. By 2024-25 the K-to-G12 ratio had fallen to 86.6, a pipeline collapse now reaching high school.

McCormick Has 483 Students Left

McCormick, Lee, and Williamsburg have each lost over 40% of their students since 2015. McCormick has 483 left.

Pittsburgh's Quiet Turnaround: Four Straight Years of Graduation Gains Reach 87%

Pittsburgh's graduation rate hit 86.9% in 2024 after four consecutive years of improvement; district leaders point to lower student-to-counselor ratios and closer monitoring.

37 Oregon Districts Hit All-Time High Graduation Rates in 2025

Thirty-seven Oregon districts with Class of 2025 cohorts of 50 or more set all-time high graduation rates, including four of the state's 10 largest districts.

Ohio's Attendance Recovery Slowed for a Third Year

Ohio's statewide chronic absenteeism rate fell to 25.1% in 2024-25, but its annual improvement slowed to 0.5 percentage points.

In the State Capital, Just Over Half of Native American Students Graduate on Time

Bismarck graduates 53.7% of Native American students, a 36.6-point gap from the 90.3% white rate, despite a growing NA cohort.

University City's Quiet Turnaround: 76 Percent to 94 Percent in Three Years

University City rose from a 75.8 percent graduation rate in 2022 to 94.3 percent in 2025, the largest gain among Missouri districts with 100+ students in both cohorts.

Vigo County Hit a New Absenteeism High While Indiana Kept Recovering

Indiana's chronic absenteeism rate fell for the third straight year, but Vigo County rose to 27.4% and became the only large traditional corporation at its 2013-2025 high.

Hawaii Graduation Gender Gap Fell to a Series Low

The female-male graduation-rate gap fell to 2.9 points in 2025, the lowest in Hawaii's 2010-2025 package series.

Calhoun County Has Improved for Seven Consecutive Years — The Longest Active Streak in Florida

Calhoun County, a small Panhandle district with a 163-student 2024 graduating cohort, has improved its graduation rate seven consecutive years, from 80.9% to 94.5%. No other Florida district has a longer active streak.

Delaware's 12th-Grade Absence Rate Fell Below 11th Again

The 12th-grade chronic absenteeism rate was 1.4 points below 11th grade in 2025, the fourth such result in five post-2020 reporting years.

A Two-School District in Maryvale Went from 50% Chronically Absent to 10%

A small Phoenix district cut its chronic absenteeism rate by 39 points in three years, nearly five times the statewide improvement.

English Learners Had Alabama's Second-Lowest Chronic Absence Rate in 2025

English learners had Alabama's second-lowest reported subgroup chronic absenteeism rate in 2025 at 8.38%, and their rate was below the statewide rate in all seven available years.

Alaska's Reported Five-Year Graduation Gap Peaked in 2021

Alaska's same-report-year four-to-five-year gap reached 6.0 points in 2021, but those rates describe adjacent cohorts. Matched files show 2,649 net additional graduates over six years.

Foster Care Attendance Fell Furthest, Then Rebounded Most

West Virginia foster care attendance fell 5.0 points from 2019 to 2022, then rebounded 4.6 points by 2025 — the largest moves in both directions among state subgroups with published endpoint rates.

Vermont's Four-Year Graduation Rate Fell From 85% to 82%

Vermont's package-backed four-year graduation rate declined from 85% in 2018 to 82% in 2025 across seven published state points.

Vermont's Six-Year Graduation Cushion Shrunk From 7 Points to 2

Vermont's six-year graduation rate fell faster than its four-year rate, shrinking the extra-time gain from 7 points to 2.

Orleans Southwest and Winooski Had Vermont's Lowest Local Graduation Rates

Orleans Southwest and Winooski had Vermont's two lowest local four-year graduation rates in 2025, but their recent paths diverged.

Vermont's Foster-Care Graduation Rate Was 46%, 36 Points Below the State

Vermont's 2025 four-year graduation rate was 46% for students in foster care, 36 points below the statewide rate.

Burlington's Graduation Rate Fell 13 Points in Two Years

Burlington's four-year graduation rate fell from 84.2% in 2023 to 71.2% in 2025, Vermont's largest local decline.

Oglala Lakota Improved as Reservation-Community Districts Still Led South Dakota's Absence List

Oglala Lakota County improved, but reservation-community systems still held five of South Dakota's six highest district chronic-absence rates in 2025.

Rapid City-Sioux Falls Attendance Gap Reached a Four-Year High After Narrowing

Rapid City's chronic-absence rate ended 2025 at 31.3%, 6.7 points above Sioux Falls after the gap narrowed a year earlier.

Attendance Improved for Native Students and Students Identified as Homeless; South Dakota's Gaps Remain Wide

Attendance improved for Native students and students identified as homeless, but South Dakota's subgroup gaps remained wide in 2025.

Female Students Had Higher Absence Rates Than Male Students for Four Years

South Dakota's female chronic-absence rate exceeded its male rate in all four years, while the students-with-disabilities gap reversed course in 2025.

Eagle Butte's Attendance Rate Made South Dakota's Sharpest One-Year Shift

Eagle Butte's chronic-absence rate rose 45.8 points in one year and remained between 65.5% and 68.8% for the next three reporting years.

South Dakota Cut Chronic Absence Three Years in a Row; One in Five Students Still Met the Definition

South Dakota's chronic-absence rate improved for three consecutive years, yet nearly one in five students still met the definition in 2025.

Rhode Island CTE Students Had a 9.7-Point Graduation-Rate Advantage in 2024

Rhode Island's published four-year graduation rate was 93.8% for the CTE subgroup and 84.1% for all students in 2024, a 9.7-point difference.

Lake Oswego and Springfield: A 21.7-Point Attendance Gap

Lake Oswego reported 18.1% chronic absenteeism in 2024-25 and Springfield reported 39.8%. The gap was present in every available year and has more than doubled since 2014-15.

Paterson Public Schools Lost 16 Percent of Enrollment From 2023 to 2026

Paterson Public Schools enrolled 26,067 students in 2023 and 21,849 in 2026, a decline of 4,218 students, or 16.2 percent.

Montana Reported More Twelfth Graders Than First Graders in 2026

Montana enrolled 10,036 first graders and 10,421 twelfth graders in 2026, the first such crossover in the complete 2018-2026 state-grade panel.

Rankin County Kept Chronic Absence Near 14% Across Eight Years

Rankin County's chronic-absence rate changed little across eight years and was the lowest among Mississippi's large districts in 2025.

9 of Mississippi's 10 Highest-Absence Schools Had 'High' in Their Names

Schools with 'High' in their names dominated Mississippi's highest chronic-absence rates and had a higher median than Elementary-named schools.

Four in Ten Mississippi Districts Reported Chronic Absence of at Least 30%

Fifty-seven Mississippi districts reported chronic-absence rates of at least 30% in 2025, showing that high absence crossed district sizes.

Mississippi District Chronic-Absence Rates Spanned 41.6 Points

Mississippi's 143 reported district chronic-absence rates ranged from 5.0% to 46.6% in 2025, with important caveats at the low end.

DeSoto County Reported Mississippi's Largest District Chronic-Absence Count

DeSoto County reported 11,336 chronically absent students in 2025, the largest count among Mississippi district rows with positive enrollment.

Claiborne County Cut Absence After Its Peak, but Port Gibson High Remains an Outlier

Claiborne County improved from its pandemic-era peak, but its 2025 rate and Port Gibson High remain Mississippi outliers.

Grain Valley's 21-Year Growth Streak Ended. Enrollment Is Still Near Its Peak

Grain Valley reported 4,461 K12 students in preliminary 2025-26, six below its observed peak. Its 21 consecutive annual gains were the longest in the complete-record comparison.

Michigan's Migrant-Program Chronic Absence Fell for Three Years. The State Improved Faster.

Michigan's migrant-program chronic-absence rate improved after 2022, but the gap with the statewide rate widened to 7.8 points.

Attendance Improved for Michigan Students Experiencing Homelessness. A 30.3-Point Gap Remained.

Michigan's chronic-absence rate improved for students experiencing homelessness, but the housing-status gap remained 30.3 points.

Michigan Seniors Had the Highest Absence Rate; Kindergarten Exceeded Grades 1-7

Michigan's 2025 chronic-absence rate was highest in grade 12 and lowest in grade 4, while kindergarten exceeded every grade from 1 through 7.

Detroit Cut Chronic Absence for Three Years. Its Statewide Burden Remains Outsized.

Detroit's chronic-absence rate has fallen for three years, but the district still reports an outsized share of Michigan's total.

Black Student Attendance Improved 11.7 Points. Michigan's Gap Still Exceeds 2019.

Black student attendance improved after 2022, but Michigan's Black-white chronic-absence gap remains wider than before the pandemic.

Maine Virtual Academy Kept Growing While Most Stable-Panel Districts Shrunk

Maine Virtual Academy added students in every annual transition in Maine's available enrollment panel while most stable-panel districts shrank.

Massachusetts' Regional Voc-Tech Median Is 7.5 Points Below the Statewide Rate

Across 26 regional voc-tech districts, the 2024-25 chronic absence median was 11.3%, 7.5 points below Massachusetts' statewide rate.

Zero of 19 Parishes Growing: North Louisiana's Enrollment Freefall

Caddo, Ouachita, and Rapides parishes lost a combined 10,426 students since 2018-19. Every parish in the article's North Louisiana region declined.

Kansas's Lowest-Rate District Was a Statewide Online-School Host

Elk Valley posted Kansas's lowest 2025 graduation rate among 136 districts with at least 40 enrolled twelfth-graders; West Elk ranked third.

Salina's Graduation Rate Fell 7.8 Points From 2020 to 2025

Salina USD 305's graduation rate fell from 91.4% in 2020 to 83.6% in 2025, the largest decline in a 66-district size-filtered peer set.

Kansas's 2020 Graduation Increase Was Followed by a 0.2-Point Dip

Kansas's graduation rate rose 0.8 point in 2020 and slipped 0.2 point in 2021; neither transition was the largest annual move in the 2016-2025 panel.

Kansas's Foster-Care Graduation Rate Rose 12.3 Points but Still Trailed the State

Kansas's foster-care graduation rate reached 71.6% in 2025, up 12.3 points since reporting began in 2022 but still 18.9 points below the state rate.

Forsyth County Cut Chronic Absence to 8.7%. Atlanta Improved but Stayed at 31.9%

Forsyth County's chronic absence rate fell to 8.7% while Atlanta improved to 31.9%, leaving a 23.2-point gap in 2024-25.

Alabama's Gender Graduation Gap Hit Its Narrowest Point in the Available Series

Alabama's male-female graduation gap narrowed to 3.1 points in 2025, the smallest in the available series, as the male rate reached 90%.

Montana's 2020 Graduation Gap by Economic Status Was 17.2 Points

Montana's economically disadvantaged students graduated at 76.8% in 2020, compared with 94.0% for non-disadvantaged students, a 17.2-point gap.

Red Lake: Where Two-Thirds of Students Are Chronically Absent

Red Lake Public School District reported a 68.4% chronic absence rate, highest among Minnesota districts with at least 500 students.

Black and Hispanic Graduation Rates Cross 80% as Colorado's Racial Gaps Narrow

Black and Hispanic graduation rates each rose 6.2 points since 2019, narrowing but not closing Colorado's gaps with White students.

Colorado's Graduation Rate for Students in Foster Care Rose 8.6 Points, but a 40.8-Point Gap Remains

Colorado's foster-care graduation rate rose from 36.2% to 44.8% across three reporting years, while a 40.8-point gap remained.

District 49's Graduation Rate Rose 14.7 Points. Its School Mix Complicates Comparisons

District 49's graduation rate rose 14.7 points by 2025, while incomplete school rows rule out a clean GOAL-free comparison.

185,000 Virginia Students Now Have IEPs

Virginia added 10,932 special education students in two years while total enrollment declined, pushing IEP enrollment to 185,155 and exposing a funding gap.

One in Three Males at Omaha Public Schools Doesn't Graduate on Time

The OPS male graduation rate has been below 70% for six consecutive years. The 2025 gender gap was 10.3 points, 2.4 times the state average, and 664 OPS males did not finish on time.

Illinois Hits 89% Graduation Rate, a Seven-Year High, but 90% Remains Out of Reach

Illinois reached an 89.0% four-year graduation rate in 2025, the highest point in the state's comparable 2019-2025 graduation-rate series and 1.0 point below 90%.

Raleigh County, West Virginia's 6th Largest, Hits All-Time Low at 90.6%

Beckley's home county is one of three at record-low attendance and one of five that worsened since the 2022 trough. Independence Middle and High are Raleigh County's lowest-attendance schools.

74,636 Graduates, and It Still Wasn't Enough

Washington produced record graduates in 2025, but the rate fell for the second straight year as the cohort grew faster than the diploma count.

94 Texas Districts Are Over 90% Hispanic

Ninety-four Texas school districts are more than 90% Hispanic, and their enrollment is shrinking while the rest of Texas grows.

Nearly Half of Ohio's Black Students Are Chronically Absent — and the Gap Is Widening Again

42.9% of Ohio's Black students are chronically absent, more than double the white rate. The 23.8-point gap grew slightly in 2025 after two years of narrowing.

Girls Miss More School Than Boys, Reversing a Pre-COVID Pattern

Before the pandemic, boys in MA had higher chronic absenteeism. Since 2022, girls have led every year. In 2025, 58.7% of districts showed the same flip.

38 Arizona Districts Hit Four-Year Chronic Absence Highs in 2024-25

Arizona's statewide chronic absenteeism rate improved slightly in 2024-25, but 38 comparable districts posted their highest rates in the four-year district dataset.

31 North Dakota Districts Are at Their Lowest Graduation Rate on Record

Nearly a quarter of North Dakota districts with enough data history posted their lowest-ever graduation rates in 2024.

Alabama's Black Belt: Where Chronic Absenteeism Is Twice the State Average

Across Alabama's 20 Black Belt counties, chronic absenteeism averages 22.4%, nearly double the state rate, with only three of 20 districts recovering to pre-COVID levels.

Special Ed Students Graduate at 61%, the Lowest Rate of Any Group in Alaska

Alaska's special education graduation rate has barely moved in seven years while 471 students in the 2025 cohort left high school without a diploma.

Nashville Cut Chronic Absenteeism by 5.6 Points. The Gaps Stayed.

Davidson County posted the strongest attendance recovery among Tennessee's largest districts, but Black and low-income students still miss school at rates that dwarf their peers.

Michigan Hits 84% Graduation Rate, Its Highest Ever, While the Pipeline Shrinks

Michigan's 4-year graduation rate reached a record 84% in 2025 even as the graduating cohort shrank by one-fifth since 2008.

Georgia's New Attendance Law Covers Nine in Ten Districts

SB 123 bans absence-only expulsions and mandates intervention teams, but 199 of 231 districts already exceed the 10% chronic absenteeism threshold that triggers the law.

Nevada Schools Below 10% Fell From 17.3% to 3.6%

School rows below 10% chronic absence declined from 103 of 597 in 2018-19 to 25 of 685 in 2024-25, while 49.5% of current rows reached at least 30%.

Mississippi's Graduation Rate Rebounds to a Record 90.8%

Mississippi's graduation rate rebounded 2.9 points to a record 90.8% in 2026, while 97 of 138 districts improved from 2025.

The 25-Point Gap: Minnesota's Black-White Chronic Absence Divide

In Minnesota, 40% of Black students were chronically absent compared to 14.5% of white students -- a 25-point gap the state can no longer track because it stopped publishing subgroup data.

Michigan's First Consolidation Grants Funded Buildings, Not District Mergers

Michigan reports 878 districts serving 15% fewer students than in 1996. Its first consolidation grants funded facilities, not district mergers.

102 Colorado District-Level Rates Fell as the State Rate Rose

Chronic absenteeism rates fell in 102 of 178 matched Colorado district-level rows in 2024-25, while the separately counted statewide rate rose from 27.9% to 28.5%.

Twin Rivers' Non-Charter Chronic Absence Rate Was 30.4%

Twin Rivers Unified's non-charter chronic absenteeism rate was 30.4% in 2024-25, seventh highest among 59 California districts with at least 20,000 eligible students on that basis.

Four Illinois Urban Districts Remained Above 40%

Decatur, Rockford, Springfield and CPS each reported chronic absenteeism above 40% in 2024-25, but their seven-year paths differed.

How a 5th Year of High School Rescues Rhode Island's Most Vulnerable Students

Rhode Island's 5-year graduation rate rescues foster care (+8.6pp), homeless (+7.6pp), and special education (+6.0pp) students, but not LEP students, who actually do worse.

The Most American School in America Looks Like America

A spreadsheet expedition through 60,598 public schools ends in Bakersfield: gold for the Patriots of Independence Elementary, silver for the Stars of Freedom Middle, bronze for the Eagles of Liberty High.

The Poverty Graduation Gap That's Actually Closing: Pennsylvania's Low-Income Rate Hits 83%

Pennsylvania's economically disadvantaged students graduate at 83%, and the poverty gap with all students narrowed 55% since 2011.

Portland's Graduation Rate Peaked at 84.4% - Then Dropped for Two Straight Years

Portland SD 1J's graduation rate peaked at 84.4% in 2023 after climbing from 53.6% in 2010, then slipped to 82.5% in 2025.

KC Black Students Graduated at a Higher Rate Than St. Louis White Students in 2024-25

Black students in Kansas City 33 graduated at 89.1 percent in Missouri's 2025 four-year cohort, 9.3 points above white students in St. Louis City. The comparison favored St. Louis in 2019.

Pam Long Steps Into the Brussels Superintendency

Pam Long says Brussels' size is its strength as she begins leading the small Calhoun County district as superintendent.

The Gender Gap Is Shrinking — But Boys Are Still 3.7 Points Behind Girls

Florida's gender graduation gap has narrowed from 7.5 to 3.7 points since 2016, with boys improving 10.9 points versus 7.1 for girls. But eight small districts still have double-digit gaps.

Piedmont Graduates 97%. Tulsa and OKC Graduate 70-77%.

Piedmont, Deer Creek, and Yukon graduate 96-97% of students while Oklahoma City and Tulsa manage 70-77%, a persistent suburban-urban divide in graduation outcomes.

In Closter and Other Suburbs, a 40-Point Black-White Absence Chasm

Closter has NJ's largest Black-white chronic absenteeism gap at 39.9 points. Across 9 districts, gaps exceed 20 points.

Melissa Collison Returns to Green County Intermediate as Principal

After beginning in Green County as a student teacher, Melissa Collison will lead Green County Intermediate with a focus on academic and emotional support.

Indiana's Graduation Gender Gap Is Closing as Young Men Gain Ground

Indiana's male graduation rate gained 2.7 percentage points over a decade, narrowing the gender gap from 4.0 to 2.8 points as young men improved faster than young women.

English Learner Graduation Rate Jumps 8.8 Points — But 1 in 5 Still Don't Graduate

California's English learner graduation rate surged from 70.9% to 79.7% but the 85,815-student cohort still sees 1 in 5 fail to graduate, with vast district variation.

A 29-Point Chronic Absence Gap Divides Arizona's Reservations and Suburbs

Reservation-area districts average 45.7% chronic absenteeism while five suburban East Valley districts average 16.8%. Tuba City's 29-point drop shows the divide is not fixed.

Every Racial Absence Gap Widened After COVID

All six racial chronic absenteeism gaps versus white students widened between 2019 and 2025 in Wisconsin, led by Native American and Pacific Islander students.

Low-Income Students' Graduation Rate Hits 12-Year Low

North Dakota's economically disadvantaged students graduate at 67.6%, the lowest rate in 12 years of state data.

Rural Districts Have the Highest Chronic Absence Rates in NC

Warren County (53.9%), Halifax (51.0%), and Northampton (50.5%) lead a rural corridor where half of students miss a month or more of school.

Same Sector, 54 Points Apart

Delaware's charter schools post both the lowest and highest chronic absenteeism in the state. Which number you use determines what story you tell.

Alaska's Homeless Students Have Never Cracked 65%

In seven years of data, students who are currently homeless' graduation rate has never exceeded 65%. The 2025 rate of 63.4% is the best on record, and still 16.5 points below the state average.

Richmond's Enrollment Decline Is Real, But VAVA Blurs the Baseline

Richmond fall membership is down 18% since 2003, but virtual-school enrollment and ADM data show the 2021 spike was not a simple local headcount change.

Terran Perry Takes Woodlawn Middle With a Turnaround Charge

Incoming Woodlawn Middle leader Terran Perry says school culture, community support, and transformation work will define the first year.

Five Districts, 27% of the Problem: Iowa's Chronic Absence Concentration

Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Sioux City account for 20,801 of Iowa's 76,535 chronically absent students — 27.2% from 17.1% of enrollment.

Montana's White-Native Graduation Gap Was 20.4 Points in 2020

Montana's White-Native American four-year graduation-rate gap ranged from 20.4 to 25.7 percentage points across the package's complete 2011-2020 race data.

San Francisco Unified's Black-Student Chronic Absence Rate Was 54.6%

San Francisco Unified's Black-student chronic absenteeism rate was 54.6% in 2024-25, 47.5 points above the Asian-student rate on the same non-charter basis.

Paige Prouty Centers Relationships as She Steps Up at West Franklin

West Franklin's incoming MS/HS principal says literacy work, experienced staff, community traditions, and expanded learning pathways will shape the next chapter.

Blockburger Centers Continuity in Riverview Transition

Susan Blockburger says Riverview's next year starts with continuity, student supports and a small-school atmosphere as she serves as interim superintendent.

The Poverty-Attendance Gap Widened by 4 Points in Washington

In 2024-25, 35.4% of Washington's low-income students were chronically absent vs. 19.2% of their peers, a 16.2-point gap that has grown by a third since before the pandemic.

One in 14 Virginia Students Now Identifies as Multiracial

Multiracial enrollment grew 73.1% from 2010-11 to 2024-25 and rose every year, second only to Hispanic growth; aggregate data cannot separate population change from classification effects.

How a Definition Change Revealed a 12-Point Graduation Gap Oregon Had Been Hiding

Oregon's poverty graduation gap appeared to vanish because 78% of the cohort was classified as disadvantaged. A tighter definition revealed a 12-point gap.

Foster Care, Homeless, LEP: Nebraska's Three-Tier Graduation Floor

Foster care youth graduate at 55%, English learners at 52%, students who are currently homeless at 62%. Nebraska's most vulnerable populations form a graduation floor 26 to 36 points below the state average.

Mooresville: The Only NC District at 95%

Mooresville Graded School District is the only district in North Carolina in the reported 95% graduation-rate bucket, up from 64% in 2006 and at or above 90% for nine straight years.

Grandview C-4: Six Straight Years of Declining Graduation Rates

Grandview C-4 recorded six consecutive declines in the available four-year graduation-rate data, from 82.7% in 2018-19 to 72.5% in 2024-25.

Cody Rierson Wants McPherson Students to See Their Superintendent in the Building

McPherson's incoming superintendent says visibility, trust, and shared leadership will matter as the district starts a new chapter during bond construction.

Leon County, Home of the State Capital, Is the Only Florida District at an All-Time Low

Leon County's graduation rate has declined for four consecutive years to 85.1%, the lowest in its recorded history. It is the only Florida district at an all-time low while 16 others set records.

The Crossover: Outer-Ring Enrollment Surpasses Four Phoenix Districts

Two outer-ring entities now enroll more students than four inner-city Phoenix districts combined, while their demographic profiles differ sharply.

Vick Barrett Puts Staff Support at Center of Poyen Transition

Vick Barrett says Poyen's next chapter starts with staff support, student success and steady growth as he moves from principal to superintendent.

K-8 Enrollment Is Falling While High School Still Holds Up

Wyoming's K-8 enrollment has fallen 12.4% since the 2016 peak, while high school actually grew 4%. The divergence is temporary — small K classes will reach HS by 2032.

Oregon's Native American Chronic-Absence Rate Was 45.9%

Oregon's Native American state row reported 5,516 students and a 45.9% chronic absenteeism rate in 2024-25, down from a 51.5% panel peak.

Four Shore Districts Stayed Above 30% Chronic Absence in 2024

Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights, Keansburg and Neptune City all remained above 30% chronic absenteeism in 2024 while New Jersey's statewide rate fell to 14.9%.

Native American-White Absence Gap Widened Most

Massachusetts's Native American-white chronic-absence gap widened 4.2 points from 2019 to 2025, the largest increase among six reported race comparisons.

Brett Gallini Started Early at CCSD59, Then Went Straight Into Classrooms

Dr. Brett Gallini says he advanced his start date to avoid another transition, then spent his first weeks visiting schools and classrooms across CCSD59.

DeKalb Reached 81.6% but Trailed Five Metro Peers

DeKalb County's graduation rate rose to 81.6% in 2025, yet it ranked last in a six-district Metro Atlanta comparison.

Seaford's Graduation Rate Fell 5.8 Points, Delaware's Steepest District Decline

Seaford's graduation rate fell 5.8 points from 2015 to 2023, the steepest Delaware district decline, while its gender gap reached 13.1 points.

Arkansas's Gender Graduation Gap Narrowed 1.4 Points Since 2018—Unevenly

Arkansas's female-minus-male graduation gap moved from 5.4 points in 2018 to 4.0 in 2024, narrowing in three annual intervals and widening in three.

Marketa George Brings a Relationship Focus to Faine

Dothan City Schools names Marketa George principal of Jerry Lee Faine Elementary, where she will lead a 285-student campus.

Aundria Sewell Steps Into Beverlye With a Culture-First Lens

Dothan City Schools names Aundria L. Sewell principal of Beverlye Intermediate, where she will lead a 335-student campus.

Two in Five Students in Foster Care Do Not Graduate on Time

Hawaii's foster care four-year graduation rate fell 15.9 points since 2018 while every other vulnerable group compared here improved, opening the widest equity gap in the state.

English Learners Lost Their Attendance Advantage

Before COVID, Delaware's English learners were less likely to be chronically absent than average. The gap flipped in 2021, briefly reversed in 2022, and reopened in 2023.

38 Virginia Divisions Hit Their Worst-Ever Graduation Rate in 2023. 24 Hit Their Best.

More than a quarter of Virginia school divisions recorded their worst-ever graduation rate in 2023, including Norfolk, Bedford, and Portsmouth.

Texas Had 423 Five-Year Panel Highs and 248 Lows in 2024

In a fixed five-year Texas panel, 423 districts were at a panel high and 248 at a panel low in 2024; 65 flat-rate districts counted in both groups.

Tennessee's Hispanic-White Absence Gap Cut by More Than Half

The Hispanic-white chronic absenteeism gap in Tennessee narrowed from 6 percentage points to 2.5, even as the Black-white gap barely moved.

Three South Carolina Districts Slid Backward as the State Reached a Ten-Year High

While South Carolina's graduation rate reached a ten-year high, Lexington 2 dropped 12.9 points, Darlington fell 11.0, and Spartanburg 4 declined 10.6, the three largest district declines in the available series.

Providence Enrollment Fell 4,012 During State Intervention

Providence enrollment fell from 23,836 in 2019-20 to 19,824 in 2025-26, a loss of 4,012 students or 16.8% during the state-intervention period.

Redmond's Graduation Rate Rose From 46.1% to 91.2%

Redmond SD 2J's reported four-year graduation rate rose from 46.1% in 2010 to 91.2% in 2025 across 11 Oregon package observations.

Guymon Went From 60% to 90% in Six Years

Guymon Public Schools raised its graduation rate from 60.5% to 90.4% in six years, while English learners climbed from 28.7% to 80.0%.

The White-Hispanic Gap Narrowed by Half in Eight Years

The white-Hispanic graduation gap in New Mexico narrowed from 11.5 to 5.9 percentage points between 2009 and 2017, driven by Hispanic students improving 7.5 points, the fastest of any racial group.

Forsyth County's Chronic-Absence Rate Remained 10.5 Points Above 2019

Forsyth County Schools had a 32.1% chronic-absence rate in 2024, second-highest among North Carolina's five largest districts and 10.5 points above 2019.

29% of Matched Missouri District Records Reached Their Earlier Enrollment

In a fixed 550-record comparison, 159 reached their 2018-19 K12 total by preliminary 2025-26. Native-ID matching preserves renamed districts; statewide totals remain unknown.

Hawaii Traditional Enrollment Fell to 150,280

County-operated schools lost 3,702 students in 2025-26, the largest annual decline since 2021, while charter enrollment rose by 277.

Students Who Were Homeless Led Hawaii Subgroup Gains

Their graduation rate rose 15.0 points from 2018 to 2025, the largest gain among 19 matched Hawaii subgroups.

Bibb County Cut Chronic Absenteeism 23.9 Points From Its Peak

Bibb's chronic absenteeism rate fell from 53.7% in 2021 to 29.8% in 2025, the largest peak-to-current improvement among 68 sizable Georgia districts.

Conecuh County: From 74.6% to 92.0%, a Rural Turnaround Worth Studying

Conecuh County's graduation rate rose 17 points in a decade, from well below to above the state average. A rare rural turnaround story.

Alaska's Diversity Is Everywhere, and It Isn't Moving

Two-thirds of Alaska's 53 districts are majority-minority, but the state's racial composition has barely shifted in seven years of data.

Three Rural Nevada District School Means Exceeded 34%

Elko, Lyon and Mineral district school means reached 34.6%, 39.5% and 40.2% in 2024-25; only Elko and Lyon more than doubled their 2018-19 rates.

Montana's Graduation Rate Is Sliding Backward -- Below 2014 Levels for the First Time

Montana's four-year graduation rate has posted three consecutive annual declines, falling to 85.0% in 2024 -- below where it stood a decade ago.

Mississippi's Graduation Rate Reaches 90.8%

Mississippi's 2026 accountability file reports a 90.8% graduation rate for 2024-25, a 17-point rise from the 73.8% rate in the 2014 file.

Connecticut's Graduation Gap Nearly Vanished

The gap between all students and high-needs students shrank from 9.4 points to 1.6 over a decade, alongside gains in cities like Waterbury and New Britain.

21 Colorado Districts Reached Six-Year Chronic Absence Highs

Twenty-one Colorado districts recorded their highest chronic absenteeism rates in the six-year 2019-20 to 2024-25 series; 17 enrolled fewer than 1,000 students.

Sacramento County's Non-Charter Chronic Absenteeism Reached 21.9% in 2024-25

Sacramento County's non-charter chronic absenteeism rate was 21.9% in 2024-25, 8.4 points above 2018-19, with an 18.3-point spread among its largest districts.

Kindergarten Chronic Absence Drops 3 Points — the Fastest-Improving Grade in Illinois

Kindergarten chronic absenteeism fell from 29.1% to 26.1%, the largest improvement of any grade. Elementary grades posted the strongest average improvement.

Pawtucket's Graduation Rate Erased Eight Years of Gains in Three Years

Pawtucket climbed from 58% to 83% in six years, making it a turnaround success story. Then the rate fell back to 71%, with a 19% dropout rate.

Wisconsin Had 76 Kindergarten Students per 100 Grade-12 Students in 2025

Wisconsin reported 50,990 kindergarten students and 67,049 grade-12 students in 2025, a cross-sectional ratio of 76.0 per 100.

Philadelphia's Graduation Rate Jumped 21 Points, the Biggest Urban Turnaround in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's graduation rate rose from 55% to 76% since 2011, the largest urban improvement in PA, driven by the 9th Grade Success Network.

Nearly Half of Portland's Native American Students Don't Graduate on Time

Portland's Native American graduation rate is stuck at 47.6% for three straight years, 26 points below statewide and 35 below the district average.

Ralston's Quiet Collapse: From 90% to 77% Inside the Omaha Ring

Ralston Public Schools has declined from 90% to 76.9% over seven years. The enclave inside Omaha now sits closer to OPS than to the state average.

Charter Schools Closed the Gap: From 14 Points Behind to Dead Even

NC charter high schools have closed a 14-point graduation gap with traditional schools since 2006 while quadrupling in number. But convergence masks enormous school-to-school variance.

Missouri’s Four- and Five-Year Graduation Rates Drew Closer. They Describe Different Cohorts.

Missouri’s published four- and five-year graduation rates were closer in 2024-25, but their difference cannot count students taking an extra year.

136 Iowa Districts Are at Their All-Time High Graduation Rate

Nearly half of Iowa's school districts hit their highest-ever graduation rate in 2024, while 87 districts posted their worst -- a bifurcated state where the middle ground is thinning.

The COVID Illusion: How Waived Requirements Inflated Graduation Rates in Florida's Most Struggling Districts

When Florida waived assessment requirements during COVID, graduation rates in its poorest districts spiked by up to 22 points. When requirements returned, the gains evaporated, and some districts fell below their pre-improvement levels.

Arizona Has More Seniors Than Juniors. It Has for Nine Years.

Kindergarten fell 15.9% while 12th grade rose 16.7%. Arizona consistently has more seniors than juniors. Now the shrinking pipeline hits high school.

Upton's Oil Boom: A Tiny District Quadrupled in Three Years

Weston County School District #7 went from 222 students to 902 in three years, driven by Powder River Basin oil activity. The boom has already started to recede.

Logan County Hits Its Lowest Attendance on Record at 87.9%

After briefly improving, Logan County's attendance reversed in 2024-25. Man Senior High leads the state's worst at 84.7%. Only 3 of the county's 17 schools are above 90%.

Special Education Graduation Gap Narrows to 12.8 Points, But 1 in 4 Still Don't Graduate on Time

Utah's special education graduation rate climbed from 69.4% to 77% since 2017, narrowing the gap with the state average, but nearly one in four SpEd students still don't graduate in four years.

Tennessee Breaks Its Own Record: 92.3% Graduation Rate Marks the Highest Point in State History

Tennessee's graduation rate hit 92.3% in 2025, setting an all-time record on a growing cohort of nearly 75,000 students.

56% of Oregon's Homeless Students Are Chronically Absent

Oregon's 15,920 students who are currently homeless have a chronic absenteeism rate of 56.4% — more than half miss too much school. The gap with the overall rate has held near 22 to 25 points every year since 2018.

Oklahoma's Native American Students Graduate Above the State Average. In Most States, They Don't.

Native American students in Oklahoma graduated at 84.3% in 2025, outpacing the state average in 6 of 7 years — the opposite of the national pattern.

The Navajo Region: Six Districts Where Fewer Than 70% of Students Graduate

In northwestern New Mexico, six districts serving predominantly Native American communities all graduate below 70%, forming a regional crisis that spans the Navajo Nation.

New Jersey's Attendance Equity Gap Closed on Paper, Not in Practice

The Black-white chronic absenteeism gap nearly doubled during COVID and has only partially recovered, leaving Black students 10 points behind.

106 Maine Districts Improved Attendance Every Single Year Since 2022

Nearly half of Maine districts with three years of data improved chronic absenteeism in both consecutive years. Only 15 worsened in both. The breadth of improvement suggests systemic recovery, not isolated success stories.

East Baton Rouge's Graduation Rate Is Stuck in the 70s, Lowest Among Major Parishes

East Baton Rouge Parish graduated 76.3% of students in 2025, nearly 9 points below the state average and the lowest rate among Louisiana's major parishes.

South Bend: Two in Five Students Are Chronically Absent

South Bend's 40.3% chronic absenteeism rate has more than doubled since 2013, and one school recorded 99.3% chronic absence.

Nearly Half of Indiana's School Districts Now Graduate 95% or More

173 Indiana school corporations with meaningful cohorts now graduate at least 95% of their students, up from about 90 a decade ago, with 24 posting a perfect 100%.

Ten Waianae Coast Schools Had Chronic Absence Rates of 42% to 55% in 2024-25

In 2024-25, ten schools on Oahu's Waianae Coast had chronic absence rates between 42% and 55%, at least 18 points above the state; six improved from the year before.

Foster Care Graduates at Half the State Rate

Georgia's foster care students graduate at 50.1%, 37 points below the state average and the lowest of any subgroup. Homeless youth face a similar gap.

Left Behind: The Two Groups Delaware's Rising Graduation Rate Missed

Students in foster care and students who are currently homeless are the only subgroups in Delaware whose graduation rates fell over nine years, even as the state hit an all-time high of 88.9%.

Where Black Students Graduate at Higher Rates Than White Peers: 47 California Districts Flip the Script

In 47 California districts with meaningful sample sizes, Black students graduate at higher rates than white students, challenging default assumptions about racial gaps.

Pacific Islander Students Saw the Widest Absence Gap Expansion in Arizona After COVID

The Pacific Islander-white chronic absence gap tripled from 3.6 to 11.4 points after COVID, the widest relative expansion of any racial group in Arizona.

Two Rivers Went From 71 Percent to 89 in Three Years. It Is the Biggest Graduation Turnaround in Arkansas.

Two Rivers gained 18 points on its graduation rate in three years, climbing from 71.2% to 89.2% — the largest improvement of any Arkansas district.

English Learners Saw the Steepest Attendance Decline of Any Subgroup

LEP students in Wisconsin went from 15.1% chronic absence in 2019 to 25.6% in 2025, the largest excess of any subgroup, with the LEP-overall gap quadrupling.

One in Three Low-Income Students in Utah Is Chronically Absent

Utah's economically disadvantaged students miss school at 1.45 times the state rate, and the gap has barely budged in three years of available data.

Half of North Dakota's Students Who Are Currently Homeless Graduate on Time. The State Average Is 82%.

The graduation rate for North Dakota students who are currently homeless has been stuck below 65% for eight years, with a 30-point gap to the state average.

7 NC Districts Hit Their 2018-2024 Chronic-Absence High in 2024

Despite statewide improvement, seven eligible North Carolina districts recorded their highest chronic-absence rate in the package's 2018-2024 panel.

Farrington High Reported 72.5%, Sixth From Bottom

Farrington High's 2025 graduation rate ranked sixth from the bottom statewide, with large race, service-population and gender gaps.

Delaware Special-Education Chronic Absence Fell Below 2019

The chronic-absence rate for Delaware students with disabilities fell from 24.1% in 2018-19 to 23.6% in 2024-25, while the all-student rate remained above its 2019 level.

Alaska Native Four-Year Graduation Rate Was 68.0% in 2025

Alaska Native students' four-year graduation rate rebounded from its 2022 low, but remained below the statewide rate in 2025.

Virginia Beach Was the Only Complete-Panel Division With Four Straight Graduation Gains

Virginia Beach improved its displayed graduation rate in all four transitions from 2019 through 2023, the only such streak among 128 complete division panels.

Aldine Rebounded 6.2 Points as Donna Extended a Four-Year Streak

Aldine ISD rebounded 6.2 points in 2024, while Donna ISD completed four consecutive annual graduation-rate increases and reached 96.3%.

South Carolina's Special-Education Graduation Rate Rose 9.5 Points

South Carolina's special-education graduation rate rose from 52.1% to 61.6% while its gap from the all-student rate narrowed from 30.5 to 25.1 points.

Georgia's English Learners Still Post Lower Absence Rates

English learners had a 19.0% chronic absenteeism rate in 2025, 1.4 points below Georgia overall, but the gap has narrowed since 2018.

Hispanic Students: From the Series' Widest Gap to Near-Parity in Two Years

Alabama's white-Hispanic graduation gap moved from 0.9 points in 2016 to a series-high 6.1 points in 2023, then to 1.8 points in 2025.

Lyon County's Unbroken Climb: The Only District at an All-Time High

Lyon County's chronic absenteeism rate reached 39.5% in 2024-25, an all-time high. It is the only Nevada district that has not improved from its COVID-era peak.

New Britain's Two Graduation Stories

New Britain graduates 71% in four years, lowest among CT traditional districts. But its high-needs students nearly match the state average.

California's 1.14 Million Missing Students: Recovery Stalls at Nearly Double Pre-COVID

Chronic absenteeism dropped from a 30% peak to 19.4%, but improvement slowed to just 1 point last year. At that pace, a return to the 12.1% pre-pandemic baseline would take about eight more years.

64 Illinois Districts Hit Available-Series High Chronic Absenteeism in 2025

Despite statewide improvement from 26.3% to 25.4%, 64 districts recorded their highest chronic absence rates in the available 2018-19 to 2024-25 series.

Only 59% of Homeless Students Graduate in Rhode Island

Students who are currently homeless in Rhode Island graduated at just 59.0% in 2024, a 25-point gap from the state average and no improvement since reporting began in 2019.

The Grade Recovery Gradient: Kindergarten Improved 12.4 Points, 12th Grade Just 0.8

Washington's attendance recovery follows a nearly perfect gradient by age: younger students are bouncing back while high schoolers remain stuck near their pandemic peak.

Pennsylvania's Racial Graduation Gap Cut in Half: Black Students Gained 15 Points in 13 Years

Pennsylvania's white-Black graduation gap dropped from 23 to 11 percentage points since 2011 as Black students' rate soared from 65% to 81%.

Special Education's COVID Scar: Nebraska's Widest Gap Expanded, Then Slowly Healed

Nebraska's special education graduation rate dropped nearly 4 points during COVID, widening the gap to 22.5 points. Five years later, the rate has barely returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The LEP Rollercoaster: From 55% to 73%, With a Definition Change Along the Way

English learners in NC have the most volatile graduation trajectory of any subgroup — spiking, crashing, and spiking again as the cohort more than doubled and the definition changed.

Joplin's Comeback: From 75 Percent to 96 Percent in Four Years

Joplin Schools hit a trough of 75.1 percent in 2021 before surging to 96.5 percent by 2025, including an 8.4-point leap in the final year.

The Suburban-Urban Divide: West Des Moines at 90%, Des Moines at 71%

Iowa's graduation story is increasingly a story of geography, with 18- to 26-point gaps between urban cores and surrounding suburbs across the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Quad Cities metros.

Pasco County Went From Average to Exceptional: 79.1% to 95.5% in Eight Years

Pasco County's graduation rate climbed 16.4 points to 95.5% in 2024, with its special education rate of 96.2% exceeding the overall rate. The large suburban district near Tampa is rewriting expectations.

The Energy Divide: Coal and Gas Counties Losing Students Three Times Faster

Wyoming's energy-producing counties have lost 14.9% of their enrollment since 2016, nearly three times the rate of non-energy districts.

Wayne County Gained 5 Points in Three Years — The Biggest Turnaround in West Virginia

Wayne County's attendance surged from 86.0% to 91.0% since the 2022 trough, with Tolsia High School gaining nearly 10 points. What happened in this southern WV county?

Kingdom East and St Johnsbury Went From Majority-Absent to Below Average in Two Years

Kingdom East and St Johnsbury went from majority-absent to below the state average in two years, achieving the largest turnarounds in Vermont.

Utah's Native American Graduation Rate First Reached 80% in Its Nine-Year Panel

Utah's statewide Native American graduation rate reached 80.1% in 2025, the first result at or above 80% in the package's 2017-2025 panel.

South Carolina Enrolled 2,546 Fewer Kindergartners Than 12th Graders

State enrollment rows show kindergarten fell below 12th grade in 2024-25 and the gap widened to 2,546 students in 2025-26.

More Than Half of Oregon's Pacific Islander Students Are Chronically Absent

Pacific Islander students have the highest chronic absenteeism of any racial group in Oregon at 51.5%. The gap with white students has quadrupled from 5.0 to 20.8 points.

The 17-Point Poverty Divide: Maine's Low-Income Students Miss School at Double the Rate

Economically disadvantaged students in Maine are chronically absent at 35.0%, nearly double the 17.6% rate for their peers. The gap narrowed 3.2 points in two years but remains the state's deepest structural divide.

Lawrence Erased Its COVID Attendance Crisis. No Other Large Gateway City Can Say That.

Lawrence cut chronic absenteeism from 43.5% to 23.3%, 0.6 points below its pre-COVID rate. Among Massachusetts' nine largest Gateway Cities, it stands alone.

Hispanic Students Graduate at Just 73% in Louisiana, a 17-Point Gap With White Peers

Louisiana's Hispanic graduation rate of 72.8% sits nearly 17 points behind white students; after large swings, the gap ended 1 point narrower than in 2018.

Indiana's Special Education Graduation Gap Shrank From 19 Points to 7

Special education students gained 13.2 percentage points over a decade, the largest improvement of any subgroup, collapsing the gap with general education peers.

Gwinnett's White-Black Graduation Gap Falls to 1.5 Points

Georgia's largest district improved from 67.6% to 85.4% over 14 years while its cohort grew by 3,320 students and became majority-minority.

One in Four SpEd Students Still Don't Graduate on Time

Delaware's SpEd graduation rate gained 9.6 points since 2015, but a 15.6-point gap persists. Christina graduates barely half its SpEd students.

Anaheim Union High's Four Straight Graduation Gains to 94.4%: One of California's Top Large-District Records

Anaheim Union High rose from 86.8% to 94.4% across four straight reported gains, ranking second among California districts with 2025 graduating cohorts of 4,000 or more.

BASIS Schools Average Under 11% Chronic Absenteeism While the State Averages 24%

Across 22 campuses, BASIS charter schools averaged 10.9% chronic absenteeism in 2024-25, less than half the state rate. The consistency is hard to dismiss.

Foster Care Had Arkansas's Largest 2018-2024 Graduation-Rate Decline

Arkansas's foster-care graduation rate fell from 73.5% in 2018 to 67.9% in 2024, the largest decline among 18 subgroup series with both endpoints.

Beloit's Absence Rate Reversed Course, Getting Worse Again

After two years of improvement, Beloit's chronic absenteeism jumped 4.6 points to 42.7% in 2025 while the state continued recovering.

Nearly Half of Pacific Islander Students Are Chronically Absent

Pacific Islander students miss school at more than double the rate of white peers, a 25-point gap that Utah's attendance campaigns have not specifically addressed.

Williston Basin's Oil Boom Built New Schools, But Graduation Rates Kept Falling

Williston Basin district graduates just 68.6% of students, the lowest rate among large ND districts, amid oil boom-driven growth and transience.

Davidson County Cut Its Chronic Rate by 18 Points in Two Years

Davidson County Schools dropped from 29.4% to 11.4% chronic absence, the largest North Carolina district to improve this far this fast.

Maine's High Schools Hold Steady, but the Pipeline Feeding Them Is Shrinking

Maine's 9-12 enrollment has barely budged in nine years, falling just 4.3%. But K-8 has lost 11,198 students, and today's kindergarten classes are 2,320 smaller than grade 9.

9th Grade: Where 1 in 4 Delaware Students Goes Missing

Chronic absenteeism peaks at 23.4% in 9th grade, nearly double elementary rates. Black and low-income freshmen hit hardest at the key dropout predictor.

15 Alaska Districts Below 70%: The Rural Bush Crisis

Fifteen Alaska school districts graduated fewer than 70% of their students in 2025. Nearly all are remote Bush communities where teacher turnover, tiny cohorts, and extreme geography collide.

Texas Graduation Equity Gaps Span 16 Points

Texas's 2024 graduation gaps vary sharply: 2.5 points for economically disadvantaged students, 9.9 for special education, and 3.2 by gender.

Charleston Reaches the 90% Club at 90.0%

Charleston County School District posted a 90.0% graduation rate in 2025, reaching South Carolina's 90% threshold after a nine-year climb.

West Des Moines' Hidden Crisis: K-8 at 13.6%, High School at 44.9%

West Des Moines has a 31-point gap between its K-8 and computed high school chronic absence rates, the largest in Iowa's 2025 district data.

Girls Now Miss More School Than Boys in Georgia

A longstanding pattern reversed in 2022: Georgia girls now have marginally higher chronic absenteeism than boys, and the gap has not closed.

Students Who Are Homeless Hit 86.3%: Their Highest Rate in Alabama's 2015 Through 2025 Data

The graduation rate for students who are currently homeless in Alabama reached 86.3% in 2025, the highest mark in the state's 2015 through 2025 series.

Nevada Virtual Programs Spanned 8.3% to 80% Chronic Absence

Selected Nevada virtual and online programs ranged from 8.3% to 80% chronic absenteeism in 2024-25; Nevada Learning Academy had the largest estimated chronic count among school rows.

Hartford's Four-Year Graduation Rate Reached 78.6%

Hartford's four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate reached 78.6% in 2025, its highest result in nine available years but still 10.3 points below Connecticut.

Five California Racial Absence Gaps Remain Wider Than 2019

Pacific Islander, Native American, and Black students all have chronic rates above 31%. Five groups have rates above white students, and all five gaps remain wider than in 2019.

At 9.7%, Mount Edgecumbe shows what's possible when students live at school

Mount Edgecumbe, Alaska's state-run boarding school, posted the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in Alaska at 9.7% -- while the statewide rate for Native American students sits at 57%.

Foster Care Students Are Stuck: Chronic Absenteeism Has Not Fallen Since 2022-23

Washington's 3,788 foster youth saw their chronic absence rate hold near 40% for two years, then rise to 41.6% in 2024-25, even as other vulnerable groups kept recovering.

Woonsocket's 44% Absenteeism: The Highest Rate Among Rhode Island's Large Districts

Woonsocket's 44% chronic absenteeism rate is the highest among Rhode Island's large districts, with more than half of middle schoolers chronically absent.

Pennsylvania Hits All-Time High 88% Graduation Rate While Producing Fewer Graduates Than 2011

Pennsylvania's four-year graduation rate reached 88% in 2024, but the state produced nearly 6,000 fewer graduates than in 2011 as cohorts shrank 10%.

15 Oregon Districts Still Graduate Fewer Than 70 Percent of Their Students

Even as Oregon hits a record 83% graduation rate, 15 districts graduate fewer than 70% of students. The list skews rural and coastal, with Coquille at 41%.

Missouri’s White-Black Graduation Gap Fell Below Eight Points in 2024-25

Missouri’s White-Black graduation-rate gap narrowed in the available comparison, while the White-Hispanic endpoint gap changed little. The data do not identify causes.

Kentucky's SpEd Gap Is Narrower Than the Nation's

Students with disabilities graduate at 83.1% in Kentucky, a 10.5-point gap from the state rate. Nationally, that gap is 13 points.

Iowa Reports Graduation Rates for Non-Binary Students, a Category Few States Track

Iowa began reporting graduation rates for non-binary students in 2022, with a cohort that has grown from 15 to 73 students and a rate of 84% in 2024, above Black, English learner, and special education students.

The FRL Gap Is Half What It Was: Florida's Poverty Penalty Shrinks From 6.3 to 3.5 Points

Florida's graduation gap between low-income and all students narrowed from 6.3 to 3.5 points since 2016, with FRL students improving 11.8 points. Unlike the ELL gap, the poverty gap did not snap back after COVID.

Kanawha County's Attendance Hit an All-Time Low While the State Improved

West Virginia's largest county and state capital posted its lowest attendance ever at 91.4%, one of five counties that worsened since the 2022 trough even as the state recovered.

Carbon District's Freefall: From 94.9% to 81.7% in Seven Years, the Largest Decline Among Utah School Districts

Carbon District in Utah's coal country has seen its graduation rate plummet 13.2 points since 2018, the steepest decline of any school district in the state.

Twelve Oregon Districts Got Worse Every Year From 2016 to 2023

Beaverton, Portland, Tigard-Tualatin, and nine other districts saw chronic absenteeism worsen in every measurable year for six straight years, spanning pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic eras.

Black Students Lost 9 Graduation Points During COVID. They've Recovered Half.

Oklahoma's Black graduation rate fell from 82.7% to 73.7% during COVID and has only recovered to 78.2%, leaving a 5.3-point gap with white students.

New York Public-School Enrollment Fell 395,463 in 21 Years

Statewide enrollment fell from 2,842,058 in 2005 to 2,446,595 in 2026; 19 of 21 annual transitions were declines, and the 2026 loss ranked third.

21 Louisiana Parishes Are at Their All-Time Highest Graduation Rate

Twenty-one Louisiana parishes hit their all-time highest graduation rate in 2025, spanning turnaround stories and established performers, while only 2 regular parishes sit at lows.

Indiana's Absenteeism Problem Started Before COVID

Chronic absenteeism rose every year from 2015 to 2019, crossing 10% for the first time in 2018. The pandemic accelerated a trend already in motion.

Gary's Graduation Rate Fell 28 Points in a Decade, Indiana's Steepest

Gary Community School Corp's graduation rate fell from 85.5% to 57.8% over a decade, the steepest decline of any Indiana corporation with a cohort of 100 or more, with most of the drop arriving after the 2017 state takeover.

Two in Five Pacific Islander Students in Hawaii Were Chronically Absent in 2024-25

In 2024-25, 40% of Pacific Islander students in Hawaii missed 18 or more days, the highest rate of any group, 29 points above Asian students; the gap narrowed 2 points on the state's newer measure.

California's Homeless Students: The Only Graduation Gap That's Widening

While every other equity gap in California graduation data narrowed since 2018, the student who is currently homeless gap widened from 7.5 to 10.7 points amid a growing cohort.

California's Charter Share Hit 12.7 Percent as District Enrollment Fell

Charters enrolled 12.66 percent of California public students in 2025-26 as district enrollment fell far more than charter enrollment grew.

Two in Five Homeless Students in Arizona Are Chronically Absent, Worse Than Before COVID

Arizona's students who are currently homeless face a 39.7% chronic absenteeism rate, 10 points above the pre-COVID level. The pandemic permanently elevated their baseline.

More Than One in Four Seniors Miss Too Much School

Wisconsin's chronic absenteeism climbs steadily from 3rd grade through 12th, with 27% of seniors (17,014 students) chronically absent in 2025.

Utah's English Learners Are the Only Students Falling Further Behind on Attendance

Every student group in Utah improved on chronic absence except English learners, whose gap with the state average widened to 12.4 points.

Oconee County Has Worsened Every Year While South Carolina Recovered

Oconee County has worsened every year in SC's chronic absenteeism data, rising from 19.3% to 23.2% while the state recovered from its peak.

Only One in Four Native American Students in Minot Graduates on Time

Minot's Native American graduation rate has collapsed to 25.9%, down from 85.7% seven years ago, amid a broader district-wide decline.

NC's Special Education Attendance Gap Widened 50% After COVID

Students with disabilities have a 32.4% chronic absence rate in NC, 7.4 points above the overall average. The gap was roughly 5 points before the pandemic.

Saco Grew 10% While Maine Lost 12,000 Students

Saco Public Schools added 179 students over nine years, making it the largest traditional district gainer in a state where 88 districts hit all-time lows.

Louisiana's Fastest-Growing Student Group Has 27,000 Members

Multiracial enrollment grew 41.7% in seven years, outpacing every other racial group. The surge is concentrated in suburban parishes and reflects both demographic change and shifting identity.

68%: Pacific Islanders Face Hawaii's Widest Graduation Gap

Pacific Islander students graduate at 68.4% in Hawaii, a 17pp gap below the state average that has barely moved in nine years of tracking.

Only 8 of 35 Districts Beat Their Pre-COVID Absence Rates

Delaware recovered 81% of its COVID attendance loss statewide, but only 8 of 35 districts have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

30 Alabama District-Level Entities Enroll Fewer Than 1,000 Students

Thirty of Alabama's 155 district-level entities enroll fewer than 1,000 students, but together they serve 2.6% of students.

Alaska Graduates Just 80% of Students

Alaska's 4-year graduation rate has stayed below 80% for six of seven years, trailing the national average by 7 points. Nearly 2,000 students per year leave without a diploma.

92 of 117 West Virginia High Schools Hit 90% Attendance in 2024-25

92 of 117 WV high schools held attendance at or above 90% last year. The 25 below that mark cluster in five southern coal counties, where Wayne County leads a 5-point recovery from its 2022 trough.

16 West Virginia Counties Have Recovered Pre-COVID Attendance; 15 More on Three-Year Improvement Streaks

16 of West Virginia's 55 counties have returned to or surpassed their 2019 attendance rates. 15 more are on three consecutive years of gains, led by Wayne, Summers, and Wyoming counties.

Manassas City's Graduation Rate Climbed 12 Points in Four Years. Its Dropout Rate Was Cut in Half.

Osbourn High School in Manassas City improved from 77.7% to 89.5% between 2019 and 2023, closing a 14-point gap with the state.

Fort Worth ISD's V-Shaped Recovery: From 81.0% Trough to 82.6%, but Still Below Pre-COVID Level

Fort Worth ISD's graduation rate plunged 4.4 points to 81.0% between the classes of 2020 and 2022, then recovered to 82.6% -- but remains 2.8 points below its 2020 level and 8.1 below the state average.

Sumter: Where More Than One in Three Students Miss a Month of School

Sumter has the worst chronic absenteeism of any large SC district at 35.9%, with rates above 30% for every racial group and nearly every subpopulation.

South Carolina's Boys Are Catching Up, But the Gender Gap in Graduation Remains Nearly 7 Points

Male students in SC graduate at 83.3% vs. 90.2% for female students, a 6.9-point gap that peaked at 12.2 points in 2019 and 2020.

Kindergartners Came Back. Oregon Seniors Did Not. 52.5% Still Chronically Absent Three Years Later.

Oregon's 12th-grade chronic absenteeism rate was 52.5% in both 2022 and 2025. While kindergarten recovered 12 points, seniors have shown no improvement at all.

Salem-Keizer's Absenteeism Is the Highest Among Oregon's Largest Districts, and the Slowest to Recover

Oregon's third-largest district hit 43.1% chronic absenteeism in 2024-25, more than double its pre-COVID rate, with 48.3% of Hispanic students chronically absent.

Six in Ten Oklahoma Districts Have Recovered to Pre-COVID Graduation Levels. Four in Ten Have Not.

59.5% of Oklahoma districts have recovered to their pre-COVID graduation rate. 115 districts remain below 2019 levels, including Tulsa and Ponca City.

Nebraska's Tribal Districts: Where 9 in 10 Students Are Chronically Absent

Three Nebraska school districts on the Omaha and Winnebago reservations have chronic absenteeism rates from 54% to 90% -- the highest in the state by a wide margin.

Black and White Students in Maine Attend School at Nearly Identical Rates

Maine's Black and white students are chronically absent at near-identical rates, a parity rooted in the state's Somali, Congolese, and Sudanese immigrant communities.

Nearly 1 in 3 Hispanic Students Chronically Absent as Racial Gap Widens

The Hispanic-white chronic absence gap in MA is 3.6 points wider than pre-COVID. In Boston and Framingham, over 40% of Hispanic students miss school.

Gateway City Students Miss School at Triple the Rate of Suburban Peers

The median chronic absenteeism rate in Massachusetts Gateway Cities is 26.9%, more than triple the 8.6% suburban median, a gap that widened 2.2 points since COVID.

Nine Louisiana Parishes Hit All-Time High Chronic Absenteeism in 2025, Even as the State Improved

Nine Louisiana parishes hit their worst-ever chronic absenteeism rates in 2025, led by Winn Parish at 40.8%, even as the state improved overall.

New Orleans Schools Span the Full Range of Chronic Absenteeism, From Near Zero to 70 Percent

Among individual New Orleans schools in 2025, chronic absenteeism ranged from near zero at Einstein Charter at Village De L'Est to 70.4 percent at McDonogh 35, against a statewide rate of 22.5 percent.

Two in Three Gary Students Miss Too Much School

Gary Community School Corporation's 63.6% chronic absenteeism rate is the highest among traditional districts in Indiana, and it has tripled since 2013.

60 Indiana School Corporations Have Returned to Pre-COVID Attendance Rates. 325 Have Not.

Sixty of Indiana's 385 school corporations have returned to their pre-pandemic chronic absenteeism rates. The other 325 remain above their 2019 baselines.

Four Cook County High School Districts Have Chronic Absenteeism Near or Above CPS's Rate

A cluster of suburban Cook County high school districts reports chronic absenteeism between 45% and 53%, rivaling or exceeding Chicago Public Schools' 40.1% rate.

Grade 12 Is the Only Grade in Illinois Where Chronic Absence Is Getting Worse

Every grade from K through 11 improved its chronic absenteeism rate in 2024-25. Seniors bucked the trend, worsening to 41.5% — a 23-point gap from elementary school.

More Than One in Three Illinois Students Who Are Economically Disadvantaged Are Chronically Absent

35.1% of students who are economically disadvantaged miss too much school, nearly 10 points above the state average. Special education and English learner rates are similarly elevated.

One in Four: Special Education's Attendance Crisis

A quarter of Georgia's special education students are chronically absent, a gap that predates the pandemic and has barely moved in eight years.

The Black Belt Split: Same Region, Opposite Trajectories

Alabama's Black Belt is splitting: Hale County's graduation rate rose 10 points while Sumter County's fell 17. A 27-point swing between neighbors.

Humboldt County's 19-Point Recovery: From Crisis to Progress

Humboldt County cut its chronic absenteeism rate by 19.4 points from its 2022 crisis peak, the largest improvement of any Nevada district.

Belcourt's Chronic Absenteeism Nearly Doubled in Six Years

The Turtle Mountain reservation district saw its chronic absence rate jump from 28% to 54%, with one high school reaching 72%, as COVID reversed partial progress and the 2024 rate surged 9 points.

74 Kindergartners for Every 100 Seniors

Minnesota hits four simultaneous grade-level records in 2026: all-time high pre-K and 12th grade, all-time low kindergarten and first grade.

103 Students to 18,424: Michigan's Virtual Schools Keep Growing

Michigan's virtual school sector has grown 17,787% since 2010. COVID was the accelerant, but post-pandemic enrollment hit a new high in 2025.

The 24-Point Gap That Shrank to 14

Hartford and West Hartford share a border and a 13.6-point graduation rate gap that has narrowed by 11 points since 2018, driven by Hartford's climb.

Two in Five Colorado Seniors Are Chronically Absent

Colorado's 12th graders have a 41.2% chronic absenteeism rate, the highest of any grade and nearly double the elementary average, even as the state posts record-high graduation rates.

LAUSD Has Cut Chronic Absenteeism by 14.9 Points. 96,925 Students Are Still Missing School.

In the schools Los Angeles Unified runs, chronic absenteeism fell from 40.3% in 2021-22 to 25.4% in 2024-25, still above the 2018-19 rate.

Malvern's Quiet Consistency: Three Straight Years of Attendance Improvement

Malvern School District spiked to 34% chronic absence in the COVID era, then improved every year since, landing at 13.8% — below its pre-COVID rate and half the state average.

From crisis to model: How Yukon-Koyukuk cut chronic absenteeism by 35 points

Yukon-Koyukuk School District slashed chronic absenteeism from 52% to 17% in three years, the largest improvement in Alaska, with four schools reporting zero chronically absent students.

Woonsocket Lost a Decade of Progress in Three Years

Woonsocket climbed from 63% to 74% over a decade, then collapsed back to 62% in three years. The dropout rate is double the state average.

Washington Cut the Number of Districts Where Half of Students Are Chronically Absent From 43 to 19

In 2021-22, 43 Washington districts had at least half of their students chronically absent. By 2024-25 the count was 19, eight of them tribal school entities, with 4,169 students between them.

The 16-Point Divide: Urban Rhode Island's Chronic Absenteeism Is Double the Suburbs

Rhode Island's urban districts have a 32% chronic absenteeism rate, double the 15.6% suburban rate. COVID widened the gap to 25 points before it narrowed.

Pittsburgh's Chronic Absence Rate Falls to 33% From a 42% Peak as Text Reminders Reach 60% of At-Risk Families

Pittsburgh SD's chronic absence rate has come down from its 42% pandemic peak to 33%, with text-message reminders improving attendance for 60% of at-risk students.

Former English Learners Graduate at 89.5% in Oregon, Above the State Average

Oregon's LEP graduation rate of 70% masks a complex picture. Former English learners graduate at 89.5%, above average. The four-year clock is the barrier.

The Tribal Gap: Umo N Ho N Nation's 57% Graduation Rate Is Nebraska's Lowest

Umo N Ho N Nation Public Schools graduated about 57% of its 2025 cohort, the state's lowest, after years near the middle. Winnebago held at 80%. The statewide Native American rate trails white students by about 20 points.

NC Students With Disabilities Gained 22 Graduation Points Since 2006. The Gap to the State Average Held at 15.

North Carolina students who receive special education services graduate at 71.6%, up nearly 22 points since 2006. But the gap to the state average has held near 15 points.

Nearly Four in Ten Missouri Districts Hit All-Time High Graduation Rates

179 of Missouri's 455 districts posted their highest-ever graduation rate in 2025, including 13 that hit 100 percent with meaningful cohort sizes.

Fewer Kentucky Students Need a Fifth Year to Graduate

The gap between Kentucky's four-year and five-year graduation rates fell to 0.6 percentage points in 2025, down from 2.1 points during COVID. But English learners still gain nearly 7 points from extra time.

Iowa's Graduation Rate Recovered to 88%, but the Number of Districts Below 70% Doubled in 2024

Eight Iowa districts graduated fewer than 70% of students in 2024, double the number from the year before, with Fort Dodge and Burlington among the mid-size districts on the list.

Florida Virtual School's Graduation Rate Climbed 30 Points, From 66.6% to 96.6%

Florida Virtual School's graduation rate climbed 30 points in eight years, from 66.6% to 96.6%, while its cohort grew 56%. The state's flagship online program now outperforms most traditional districts.

Two in Three Arizona Districts Never Recovered From COVID

Five years on, only 33% of Arizona districts have regained their 2020 enrollment. The state has lost 72,026 students since its peak, with losses rising.

Peak Was 2016, Not 2020: Wyoming's Decline Predates COVID by Four Years

Wyoming's enrollment peaked at 94,002 in 2016, driven by the energy boom. The state was already losing students before the pandemic arrived.

Mingo County Cleared 90% Attendance. Four Coal Neighbors Are Still Climbing Back.

Mingo County recovered above 90% attendance while its four coal-country neighbors trail the state. The region averages 89.0%, about 3.3 points below West Virginia.

Vermont's 40-Point Attendance Gap: Same Size, Opposite Outcomes

Harwood (17% chronic rate) and Rutland City (56.7%) enroll nearly the same number of students, but a 39.7 percentage-point gap separates their attendance outcomes.

Eight of Ten Student Groups Hit All-Time High Graduation Rates in Utah's Class of 2025

Eight of Utah's ten reported student subgroups reached all-time high graduation rates in 2025, with the largest gains concentrated among the groups that started furthest behind.

One in Two Dallas Students Is Learning English

Dallas ISD crossed 50% English learner enrollment in 2024, joining 53 other Texas districts where a majority of students are classified LEP.

A 2017 Reclassification Cut South Carolina's Native American Student Count in Half, on Paper

Native American enrollment fell 49.6% since 2015, but most of the drop is a reporting artifact. A 2017 reclassification into multiracial moved 2,065 students into a new category in one year.

Oregon's Hispanic-White Absence Gap Has Grown Sixfold Since 2015

In 2015, Hispanic and white students had nearly identical absence rates. By 2025, the gap had grown roughly sixfold to 9.8 points (40.5% vs 30.7%).

Fort Gibson Posted a 52% Graduation Rate in 2019. In 2025, It Was 99.1%.

Fort Gibson posted the longest active improvement streak in Oklahoma — five straight years of gains from 52% to 99.1%, with economically disadvantaged and Native American students at 100%.

Ohio Now 73,805 Below Pre-COVID Enrollment

Five years after COVID, Ohio's enrollment hasn't recovered. It's gotten worse. Two in three districts sit below their pandemic floor as losses accelerate.

NYC Gained Share of State Enrollment for 14 Straight Years. Then It Stopped.

NYC's share of New York enrollment rose from 36.8% to 40.4% as upstate shrank faster. COVID reversed the dynamic, and the city is now losing ground.

Espanola's Graduation Rate Climbed to 65.5% in 2017, but a 44-Point Gap Separates Its Native American Students

Espanola's overall graduation rate rose to 65.5% in 2017, but a 44-point gap separated its Native American students, the widest such gap of any New Mexico district that year.

How McKenzie County Absorbed the Oil Boom and Kept Graduation at 85.8%

McKenzie County grew enrollment 344.8% and still graduates 85.8% of seniors. Other oil-boom districts grew just as fast and now sit lower in the state's graduation table.

Boston Cut Chronic Absenteeism for a Fourth Straight Year. One in Three Students Is Still at Risk.

Boston Public Schools cut chronic absenteeism from 42.2% to 33.0% since 2022, but still sits 7.8 points above pre-COVID levels. Hispanic students and students receiving special education face rates above 40%.

Orleans Parish Crossed 80% for the First Time, but a 34-Point Gap Separates White and Hispanic Graduates

Orleans Parish hit 82% in 2024 and held above 80% in 2025, but a 34-point gap between white and Hispanic students exposes deep inequity within the all-charter system.

Indiana's White-Black Graduation Gap Was Nearly Halved in Three Years

The white-Black graduation gap in Indiana narrowed from 12.1 to 6.5 percentage points, with most of the closure happening in a rapid three-year span after 2022.

Indianapolis Suburbs Hold Attendance in Single Digits as IPS Works Down From Its COVID Peak

Zionsville, Carmel, and Fishers keep chronic absenteeism under 8%. IPS, three years into a steady decline, is at 32%, a 26.7-point metro gap.

Most Hawaii Schools Cut Chronic Absence in 2024-25. At Least 268 Remain Above Their Pre-Pandemic Rates.

182 of 293 Hawaii schools cut chronic absence in 2024-25. Even allowing for the state's new, higher threshold, at least 268 of 290 remain above their 2018-19 rates.

Georgia's Special Ed Graduation Rate Has More Than Doubled

Georgia's special ed graduation rate rose from 29.8% to 78.4% in 14 years, the largest gain of any subgroup. The gap to peers shrank from 42 to 10 points.

Florida's Share of High-Absence Schools Slips From Its 2021-22 Peak, Down to 73%

Florida's share of schools with high chronic absenteeism eased from its 2021-22 peak of 76.3% to 73.0% by 2023-24, with about one in four schools now below the threshold. 496 schools still have a majority chronically absent.

NCC Vo-Tech Graduates 98% of Black Students

New Castle County Vo-Tech has essentially eliminated the equity gap in graduation rates, with Black students outperforming white peers by 2.6 percentage points.

174 California Districts Hit All-Time High Graduation Rates in 2025

Nearly 40% of California districts recorded their highest-ever graduation rate in 2025, including six of the largest, while only 37 hit all-time lows.

Arizona's Gender Absence Gap Emerged After COVID: Boys Are Now Consistently More Absent

Before COVID, Arizona had no gender gap in chronic absenteeism. By 2024-25, boys were 0.5 points above girls, a small but persistent new pattern.

Asian Students in Arkansas Graduate at 96 Percent. No Other Racial Group Is Close.

Asian students in Arkansas reached a 96.3% graduation rate in 2024, gaining 5.4 points since 2016, the largest improvement of any racial group.

The Poverty Attendance Gap Grew by 4.4 Points Since the Pandemic

Wisconsin's chronic absenteeism gap by income widened from 16.3 to 20.7 points since 2019, with nearly 1 in 3 lower-income students now chronically absent.

At Its 2020 Graduation Rate, North Dakota's Growing Class of 2024 Would Have Earned 573 More Diplomas

North Dakota's cohort keeps growing, but at its 2020 peak rate the class of 2024 would have earned 573 more diplomas. The cumulative gap is about 1,633.

One Parish Holds a Quarter of Louisiana's English Learners

Jefferson Parish enrolls 8,718 English learners at a 19.2% rate, nearly four times the state average and a quarter of Louisiana's EL total.

The Black-White Absence Gap Narrowed by Two-Thirds in Idaho

Black students cut their chronic absenteeism rate from 22.1% to 15.9% while white students barely moved, narrowing the gap from 9.1 points to 3.0.

Woodbridge Cut Chronic Absenteeism by 13 Points in One Year

Woodbridge's chronic absenteeism rate fell from 18.4% to 5.2% in 2024-25, the largest single-year improvement among Delaware traditional districts.

Half of Limestone County's Students Are Virtual

Alabama's three fastest-growing districts owe their growth to statewide virtual schools run by Pearson and Stride, not local enrollment gains.

Fairfax County Graduates 93% of Its Students. Three of Its Schools Tell a Different Story.

Fairfax County's 93.4% graduation rate masks three alternative schools where 40-79% of students drop out, serving 431 students where dropping out is the majority outcome.

Texas's Quiet Success Story: English Learner Graduation Rates Surge 7.6 Points in Four Years

Texas English learners gained 7.6 percentage points in graduation rate over four years, the largest improvement of any subgroup, cutting the gap with all students by more than half.

Corridor of Shame After Abbeville: Florence 2 Crosses 90% and Shows Geography Isn't Destiny

After Abbeville, Florence 2 posted the largest graduation-rate gain in SC and crossed 90%, even as the 14 reporting Corridor of Shame districts still trail the rest of the state.

Three Missouri Districts Reported Sharp Growth After a Virtual Enrollment Reporting Change

Grandview, Sturgeon and Laquey reported large K12 enrollment gains after the host-enrollment transition. Their named program rows support the counts, without proving new openings or a law’s causal effect.

Iowa Cut Chronic Absenteeism 5.8 Points During Its Attendance Law's First Full School Year

Iowa posted its largest annual chronic-absence improvement in the available record, but the timing alone cannot establish what caused it.

90% Survival Rate, With an Asterisk

Hawaii's 9th-to-12th survival rate hits 90% for the first time, but a 2024 reclassification of students who receive special education inflated the count. The real gain is smaller.

English Learners Made a 15-Point Leap in Two Years, the Fastest Improvement of Any Group

The graduation rate for Alabama students who are English learners rose from 67.9% to 83.3% in two years, the fastest gain of any subgroup and an all-time high.

70 Nevada Schools Where a Majority of Students Are Chronically Absent

The number of Nevada schools with chronic rates above 50% surged from 51 to 70 in 2024-25, reversing three years of progress. Clark County accounts for 38.

West Fargo Brought Chronic Absenteeism Back Down. What Can Other Districts Learn?

While neighboring Fargo's rate doubled to 26%, West Fargo cut its chronic absence from a 15% peak back to 12%, with mid-year 2024-25 data showing just 3.3%.

East Helena Grew 54% in Seven Years

East Helena K-12 added 681 students since 2019, growing 54% as housing on a former Superfund site draws families priced out of Helena.

Mississippi's Kindergarten Classes Shrank 14%. High Schools Haven't Felt It Yet.

Kindergarten enrollment fell 14.2% since 2016 while 12th grade grew 2.2%. As smaller cohorts age up, high school enrollment will eventually decline too.

Hastings Has Not Grown in 19 Years

Hastings is the only Minnesota district to decline every single year in the state's dataset. The 19-year streak has erased 1,118 students, 22% of enrollment.

Dearborn Grew While Michigan Shrank. Then It Hit a Wall.

Immigration-fueled growth made Dearborn Michigan's third-largest district. Seven consecutive years of decline now threaten that story.

Retraction: Burrton, Cedar Vale, Lewis and Triplains Are Open and Enrolling Students

Retraction: we reported that four Kansas school districts closed this year. Burrton, Cedar Vale, Lewis and Triplains are all open. We withdraw the article.

Connecticut Graduates 89% — and Can't Get Higher

Connecticut's four-year graduation rate has oscillated between 88.4% and 89.6% for four straight years, erasing the pre-COVID trajectory of steady gains.

Denver LEP Chronic Absenteeism Surged 3 Points as ICE Fears Spread

Chronic absenteeism among Denver's LEP students jumped to 44.2% in 2024-25, the sharpest increase among any subgroup except students who are currently homeless, as the district pointed to immigration enforcement as a factor.

102,000 Homeless Students Chronically Absent in California -- and the Number Keeps Climbing

The chronic rate for students who are currently homeless has fallen from its COVID peak, but the count reached a new high of 102,268 as California's housing crisis feeds its attendance crisis.

Alpena: A 3,000-Student District That Kept Improving After Everyone Else Stopped

Alpena cut chronic absenteeism from 26% to under 10% across two consecutive years while 87% of Arkansas districts got worse. The rural district now outperforms its own pre-COVID baseline.

For Every 100 Seniors, Alaska Has Only 84 Kindergartners

Alaska's kindergarten enrollment has fallen 15% since 2020 while 12th grade hit an all-time high, creating a pipeline inversion that will accelerate decline for years.

Providence Hits Its Highest Graduation Rate Under State Intervention

Providence posted a 79.4% graduation rate in 2024, its highest on record and a 5.8-point improvement since the state took over the district in 2019.

New Jersey Public School Enrollment, 2025-26: The Data Release

NJ recently released 2025-26 enrollment data. Total enrollment fell 23,732 to 1,357,450, the largest single-year drop in 27 years of state files. K-12 down 24,564. Hispanic and English-learner counts each fell for the first time in over a decade.

1 in 7: Wisconsin's Special Ed Share Hits a Record

Wisconsin's special education share hit 14.7% in 2025, crossing the 1-in-7 threshold at an all-time high even as total enrollment fell.

Nearly Half of Native American Students in Washington Miss Too Much School

Native American chronic absenteeism was 45.6% in Washington in 2024-25, with eight tribal and reservation districts above 50% and a gap with white students wider than before the pandemic.

One in Seven Virginia Students Is an English Learner

Virginia added 14,683 English learners in two years while total enrollment fell. Two divisions are now majority-LEP, and the growth is spreading statewide.

Only 8 of 60 Districts Have Recovered to Pre-COVID Absence Levels

Despite nationally recognized attendance campaigns, only 13.3% of Rhode Island districts have recovered to pre-COVID chronic absenteeism levels.

PA English Learners Close the Chronic Absence Gap

English learner students are the only group in Pennsylvania whose chronic absence gap has fully closed, matching the statewide rate at 20.4%.

The White-Hispanic Graduation Gap in Oregon Has Shrunk From 15 Points to Under 5

Oregon's white-Hispanic graduation gap narrowed from 14.7 to 4.6 points since 2010. Hispanic students gained 24.7 points; in 23 districts they now lead.

The Omaha Metro Donut: 27.8 Percentage Points Separate the Core from Its Suburbs

Gretna graduates 99.3% of its seniors. Omaha Public Schools, just across a municipal line, graduates 71.5%. The 27.8-point gap maps onto the most visible divide in Nebraska education.

Hispanic Students Climbed From 52% to 83% in 18 Years

Hispanic students in North Carolina have cut the white-Hispanic graduation gap from 21 points to 6.5 while their cohort grew nearly fivefold. A 2024 breakout may signal the end of a 7-year plateau.

St. Louis City's Graduation Rate Stayed Near 70 Percent as Missouri's Reached 92.7

Missouri's graduation rate reached 92.7 percent in 2025, while St. Louis City stayed between 69.7 and 74.0 percent, with a falling Hispanic rate and a smaller cohort.

Kentucky's Widest Graduation Gap Belongs to English Learners

English learners graduate at 79%, 14.6 points below the state average, after a single-year reversal erased four years of progress.

The Special Ed Gap Is 18 Points -- Iowa's Most Persistent Equity Divide

Special education students in Iowa graduate at 70%, 18 points below the state average, and the gap has been stuck between 18 and 20 points for six straight years.

Hardee County's Freefall: From 91.4% to 73.6% in Four Years

Hardee County has declined for four consecutive years, losing 17.8 percentage points since 2020. Its male graduation rate of 69.3% is 18.6 points below the state average.

1 in 10 Arizona Students Is Now an English Learner

English learner enrollment surged 21% since 2022 even as Arizona lost 59,000 students overall, crossing the 10% threshold for the first time.

Rock Springs: The Canary in the Gas Mine

Sweetwater #1 has lost 22.1% of enrollment since its 2016 peak of 5,749 students, the steepest decline among Wyoming's mid-size and large districts.

One in Four of Vermont's Chronically Absent Students Receives Special Education Services

Students receiving special education services make up 25.4% of Vermont's chronically absent and recovered just 24.8% from the COVID peak, far less than their peers.

English Learners Lead Utah's Graduation Gains: 12.1 Points Since 2017, the Fastest Improvement of Any Subgroup

Utah's English learners improved graduation rates by 12.1 points since 2017, the fastest gain of any group, still trailing the state average by 10 points.

Granite District's Two Utahs: Skyline High at 97% and Granger High at 73%, Seven Miles Apart

Granite District's graduation rates span 97% at Skyline to 73% at Granger, seven miles apart. The gap is widening as overall district numbers improve.

Licking Heights: From 30 Asian Students to 1,471 in a Decade

A Columbus-area district grew 36.6% while Ohio shrank, fueled by Nepali, Somali, and other immigrant families drawn to affordable housing and jobs.

The 9th-Grade Bottleneck That Unclogged Itself

New York's 9th-grade bulge shrank from 18% to 5% over two decades as survival rates climbed from 71% to 92%, a quiet success inside the enrollment decline.

The Extra Year: How a 5th Year Gives Black Students a 7-Point Boost

Black students gain 7 points and Native American students 5.8 points with a fifth year, the largest gains among all subgroups in New Mexico.

Four Students, One District

Marmarth School District enrolled 4 students in 2025-26, making it the smallest of 33 North Dakota districts under 100 students.

Louisiana's Graduation Rate Hit a Record 85%. For English Learners, That Ceiling Has Barely Moved.

Louisiana hit a record 85% graduation rate in 2025, but students classified as English learners remain at 51.7%, a 33-point gap unchanged for seven years.

Indiana's Record Graduation Rate Comes With a Growing Asterisk

Indiana's grad rate gap (state vs. federal) nearly tripled since 2020. About 1,600 students now earn diplomas through waivers, not standard requirements.

At Nearly 9 in 10 Hawaii Schools, Native Hawaiian Students Miss More School Than Their Peers

In 2024-25, Native Hawaiian students were chronically absent at higher rates than their school's overall student body at 250 of 282 Hawaii schools, 88.7%, a share that has held near that level for three years.

Maunaloa Elementary on Molokai Had Hawaii's Second-Lowest Chronic Absence Rate in 2024-25, at 2%

Maunaloa Elementary on Molokai had a 2% chronic absence rate in 2024-25, second-lowest of 295 Hawaii schools, after 7% the year before on the same measure.

Crawford County Graduated 42% of Its Students. Now It Graduates 93%.

Crawford County posted a 50.7-point graduation rate gain since 2011, the second-largest in Georgia, one of 15 districts rising from below 60% to above 90%.

Collier County Defies Florida's Attendance Crisis: 14 Points Below the State Average

With a 17.4% chronic absenteeism rate in 2023-24, Collier County has been below the Florida average in every year of the state's data, and the gap is now the widest it has been.

Lake Forest Crossed 90%. No Geographic District Gained More.

Lake Forest posted Delaware's largest graduation-rate gain: up 12.1 points from its 2019 trough to 90.4%, largest gain among 16 geographic districts.

White Students Fell Below 50% in 2020. The Gap Keeps Widening.

Connecticut's public schools became majority-minority in 2020. Since then, white enrollment fell to 44.7% and Hispanic students have grown to 32.5%.

The White-Hispanic Graduation Gap Nearly Vanishes: Just 2.1 Points in 2025

The white-Hispanic graduation gap in California shrank from 6.5 to 2.1 percentage points as 287,000 Hispanic students approach graduation parity with white peers.

106 Arizona Districts Improved Chronic Absenteeism Three Years Running

106 Arizona districts improved chronic absenteeism every year from 2023 to 2025. Fort Thomas dropped 45 points; Tuba City cut its rate from 57% to 28%.

70 Arkansas Districts Report Exactly 95 Percent Graduation Rates. None of Them Are Real.

Nearly 30% of Arkansas districts report exactly 95.0% graduation rates, a data suppression artifact that hides true performance.

Madison's Chronic Absenteeism Rate Tripled in a Decade

Madison Metropolitan's chronic rate went from 7.1% in 2011 to 29.6% in 2025, a tripling that began before COVID and shows no sign of returning to baseline.

Washington District Cut Chronic Absence by 4.4 Points in Three Years

While most Utah districts remain stuck above pre-COVID absence levels, Washington District in St. George has posted three straight years of improvement.

One Utah District Just Crossed the 50% Chronic Absence Line

Uintah District's chronic absenteeism rate surged to 50.9% in 2025, making it the only traditional district in Utah where most students are missing school.

Fewer Than Half of North Dakota's Youth in Foster Care Graduate on Time

North Dakota's foster care graduation rate has collapsed to 44.7%, down 28 points from 73.1% in 2020, falling well below the national average.

NC's English Learners Went from Below-Average to Above-Average Absence

English learners in North Carolina had lower chronic absence than the state average before COVID. Now they are 3.9 points above it, a complete reversal.

Multiracial Students Now Tied with Hispanic as Maine's Third-Largest Group

Maine's multiracial enrollment surged 62% in nine years to 6,652. Three growing groups converge as white enrollment sheds nearly 20,000.

Only 7 of 74 Louisiana Parishes Have Recovered From COVID

Seven years after the pandemic, 90.5% of Louisiana parishes remain below 2019 enrollment. The deficit is deepening, not closing.

Snake River District's Secondary Schools Cut Chronic Absence in Half in Two Years

Chronic absenteeism at Snake River District's high school, junior high and middle school fell from 15.8% in 2022-23 to 7.6% in 2024-25, about half the state rate. The district-wide 3.1% figure is not a reliable measure.

86% and Stuck: Why Hawaii's Graduation Rate Stopped Climbing

Hawaii's graduation rate flatlined near 86% after a decade of gains. A 17-point Pacific Islander gap reveals who the plateau leaves behind.

Native Hawaiian Graduation Rate Falls to 80.3%

Native Hawaiian students lost 3.2 percentage points since 2021 while the state held steady, opening the widest equity gap in nine years of data.

Seaford Cut Chronic Absenteeism by 21 Points in Three Years

The small Sussex County district went from one of Delaware's worst attendance performers to beating the state average, with 753 fewer students chronically absent.

One in Three Alabama Districts at All-Time Enrollment Lows

Fifty-one Alabama districts hit record-low enrollment in 2025-26, including the four largest. The decline spans urban, rural, and suburban systems.

Danville's Graduation Rate Has Fallen Every Year Since 2019. Its Dropout Rate Has Nearly Doubled.

Danville City's graduation rate dropped from 81.8% to 73.3% over four years, while its dropout rate climbed from 9.4% to 17%, the largest increase in Virginia.

El Paso’s Graduation Rate Fell While McAllen’s Rose

El Paso ISD’s four-year graduation rate fell across the classes of 2020–2024 while McAllen’s rose. A comparison of selected districts and overlapping groups.

English Learners Are Losing Ground as South Carolina's Graduation Rate Climbs

English learners dropped from 80.3% to 77.8% between 2018 and 2025 while the overall state rate climbed from 81.0% to 86.7%. They are one of three subgroups to lose ground.

One in Three Nebraska Seniors Is Chronically Absent

Nebraska's 12th-grade chronic absenteeism rate was 37.2% in 2024-25, more than double the kindergarten rate and nearly triple the third-grade rate.

38 Connecticut Districts Never Had a Chronic Absenteeism Problem, Even During COVID's First Year

Thirty-eight districts stayed below the state average for chronic absenteeism every year from 2012 through 2020, showing that sustained low absence is achievable across diverse community types.

Montgomery's 17-Point Crash Was the Biggest in the State. Two Years Later, It's Still Not Back.

Montgomery County's graduation rate crashed 17 points in 2023, the largest single-year district drop in Alabama. Two years later, it has recovered only partially.

Nevada's Charter Schools Beat Traditional Districts on Attendance

SPCSA charter schools have a weighted chronic rate of 23.3% vs. 33.9% for traditional districts. But the charter sector includes both the state's best and worst schools.

Only 14% of North Dakota Districts Have Recovered to Pre-Pandemic Absence Levels

Just 13 of 93 districts with comparable data have returned to pre-COVID chronic absenteeism rates, while 31% are at their all-time worst in 2024.

Denver Worsened While Aurora Quietly Improved: A Tale of Two Urban Districts

Denver's chronic absenteeism reversed course in 2024-25 while neighboring Aurora kept improving for a third straight year, narrowing a gap that once seemed structural.

Hispanic Students Are 56% of California's Enrollment but 64.6% of Its Chronically Absent

739,000 Hispanic students are chronically absent, making up nearly two-thirds of the state's attendance crisis. The Hispanic-white gap doubled since pre-COVID.

The 33 Districts That Never Hit 20%: Arkansas's Attendance Floor

While Arkansas's statewide chronic absence rate lurched from 14% to 27%, 33 districts kept their rates below 20% in every single measured year — including the COVID spike.

The White-Black Graduation Gap Narrowed to 4.8 Points in 2018, Then Doubled Back to 9

Rhode Island's white-Black graduation gap was closing steadily until 2018, reaching a record-low 4.8 points. Six years later, it's back to 9 points.

Multiracial Students Tripled in Wisconsin, and They're Still Growing

Multiracial enrollment tripled from 13,197 to 44,968 in 14 years, making it Wisconsin's fastest-growing demographic by a wide margin.

Quillayute Valley's Forks Schools Cut Chronic Absence 19 Points Since 2022

The in-person schools in Forks went from 41% of students chronically absent in 2021-22 to 21.6% in 2024-25, now below Washington's 27.3%. The district-wide rate is lower still because it counts a large online school.

One in Three Virginia Divisions at Record-Low Enrollment

43 Virginia school divisions hit all-time low enrollment in 2024-25, from Virginia Beach's 64,823 students to Charles City County's 523.

Providence's 20-Point Turnaround: From 57% to 36% Chronic Absenteeism in Two Years

Providence Public Schools cut chronic absenteeism from 57% to 36% in two years under state control — the only large RI district to recover to pre-COVID levels.

York City's 27-Point Recovery From 63% Chronic Absence

York City SD dropped from 63.4% chronic absence to 36.8% in two years, the second-largest improvement in Pennsylvania. The recovery crossed every subgroup.

Medford's 8-Year Reporting Streak: From 62% to 88% Graduation Rate

Medford SD 549C improved its graduation rate for 8 consecutive reporting years, climbing from 61.6% in 2010 to 88.1% in 2025.

Nearly Half of Nebraska's English Learners Don't Graduate on Time — and the Crisis Is Accelerating

Nebraska's English learner graduation rate has fallen from 64% to 52% over 14 years while the overall rate barely moved. The 41-point gap to white students is the state's widest equity chasm.

The White-Black Graduation Gap Halved, But Progress Has Stalled

North Carolina cut the white-Black graduation gap from 13 points to 5 in a decade. Then it stopped narrowing. The remaining gap means about 1,600 Black students per year who would graduate at white rates.

Two Cities, Two Trajectories: Kansas City Surges Past St. Louis

Kansas City 33 and St. Louis City were within 2 points of each other in 2019. By 2025, an 18-point chasm had opened between Missouri's two largest urban districts.

Hispanic Graduation Gains Erased in a Single Year

Kentucky's Hispanic graduation rate climbed 5 points from 2022 to 2024, then dropped 2.1 points in 2025, the only racial group to decline while every other improved.

Iowa's White-Black Graduation Gap Is 15 Points -- And It Hasn't Budged

The gap between white and Black graduation rates in Iowa has held steady at 15-18 points for six years, even as the state's overall rate returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Nearly Half of Florida's Districts Now Graduate 90% — Up From Less Than 10% Eight Years Ago

The number of Florida county districts graduating 90% or more of their students has surged from 6 to 29 since 2016, while districts below 70% have disappeared entirely.

Queen Creek Doubled in Eight Years. Now the Growth Is Slowing.

Queen Creek Unified grew 117% since 2018, the fastest traditional district in Arizona. But annual gains have fallen from 2,299 to 374, raising questions about what comes next.

Only 6 of 48 Districts Have Recovered from COVID