This story is republished from Source NM as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to Albuquerque.
By LEAH ROMERO
Public school students in New Mexico experienced the highest increase in chronic absenteeism between 2019 and 2023 in the country, according to a recent Legislative Finance Committee report.
State lawmakers were clued in on student attendance this week by LFC analysts and New Mexico Public Education Department representatives. The major takeaway: New Mexico saw a 119% increase in chronic absenteeism between 2019 and 2023 – the largest increase in the country, according to the report. The national average increased by 71% during the same period.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10% of the school days in a year, or at least 18 days in a 180-day school calendar year.
Several studies have linked missing this amount of school or more in younger grade levels to lower rates in reading and math proficiency and ultimately lower high school graduation rates. Absences negatively impact the other students in class as well, the LFC report notes.
The federal KIDS COUNT Data Book released earlier this week highlighted New Mexico’s performance in education as a factor in overall child well being. The state ranked 50th in this area with 79% of students not proficient in fourth grade reading and 87% of students not proficient in eighth grade math.
Analysts found children in an ethnic minority, English language learners, those who have disabilities and those experiencing housing insecurity are absent from school at a higher rate than fellow students.
“Students in the later elementary school grades tend to have the best attendance in New Mexico, while kindergarten and high school students were the most absent,” the report reads.
Analysts said the causes of this trend are unclear, but did note New Mexico students are similar to the national trend in this area.
Taking attendance is inconsistent throughout the state
Another factor in low attendance numbers is inconsistent ways teachers track attendance. Analysts found teachers across New Mexico school districts vary in the ways they take attendance, from tracking it through software programs to notating it by hand. And attendance is not taken regularly each day or even each class period.
“The problem is compounded by some student information systems defaulting all student attendance to ‘present,’ leading to an undercount of absences by teachers who fail to take attendance,” the report states.
The Attendance for Success Act was passed by the New Mexico Legislature in 2019 and signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill outlined intervention strategies for addressing chronic absences in a supportive way rather than through punishment and directed the PED to collect data on attendance and ensure it is being reported “consistently and correctly.”
LFC analysts reported to lawmakers the PED has still not provided school districts with guidance on implementing the changed rules from the bill.
The report noted that PED can, in theory, provide districts with funding, technical assistance and training, but has not been consistent in this support “due to staff turnover, lack of strategic planning, and lack of clearly defined departmental roles in addressing absenteeism.”
Rep. Harry Garcia (D-Grants) questioned the actions of PED and its staff’s failures to correctly do their jobs.
“We need to not point fingers at the schools. We need to point fingers at ourselves as to why this is happening,” Garcia said. “It clearly states here that you guys are not providing sufficient information to the schools.”
Proposed solutions to chronic absenteeism
Analysts wrote a simple solution would be for the PED to clarify how teachers should take attendance and set up a statewide student information system to regulate the collection of data, as directed by the Attendance for Success Act.
One suggestion was to make changes to the academic calendar on a school-to-school basis to address the needs of chronically absent students. Providing extra schooling to these students would allow them to gain back instructional time. Analysts looked at a study done in North Carolina which showed improvements in academic performance when students spent more time in instruction.
Another suggestion in the report was to extend the school day or even the school year.
New Mexico lawmakers passed the K-12 Plus Program law in 2023, incentivizing school districts to extend the school year and changed the academic calendar to be based on instructional hours rather than days.
However, the New Mexico School Superintendents Association and officials from various districts and schools throughout the state filed a civil case asking the court for an injunction earlier this year to legally halt the bill from being enacted. The case is still being considered in court.
