K-12 students learned a lot last year, but they're still missing too much school

From 2022-2023 , chronic absenteeism declined in 33 of the 39 states AEI looked at.

But it was still a persistent problem: In a handful of places, including Nevada , Washington , D.C. , Michigan , New Mexico and Oregon , roughly 1 in 3 students or more were chronically absent.

Despite progress, very few states are back to pre-pandemic learning levels.

In 2023 , students' academic recovery was relatively strong across groups.

In some places, achievement gaps between rich and poor districts are even wider now than they were before the pandemic.

Families must play an important role in helping students and schools find a healthy, post-pandemic normal.

There's a "culture problem" around chronic absenteeism, Malkus says.