Rhode Island Ranks Seventh Worst In School Absenteeism

Rhode Island Schools rank seventh worst in the U.S. for percentage of students who are chronically absent from school according to a new study by Attendance Works, an organization focused on improving attendance through policy and research.

Attendance Works defines chronic absenteeism as missing 15 days or more in one year. Data for this study comes form the 2015-16 school year. The study found that 21 percent of Rhode Island students met that criteria.

Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Ken Wagner told reporters the state's own figures show lower chronic absenteeism rates. He acknowledged though that more can be done to curb the number of absences.

Attendance Works gave several suggestions for families to help curb absenteeism. Some of those include reviewing you/your child's absences, engaging other students and families, asking the principal about the school's attendance policy, and advocating for after school programs and other resources.

The full study can be found here.

Photo credit Sean Gallup/ Staff via Getty