Research news: School attendance problems

Students miss school for all kinds of reasons, but when they’re absent, they miss more than just lesson content. They miss the opportunities to build the habits and skills that shape how they learn, connect and succeed at school and in life. These include developing foundational skills, building motivation and perseverance, forming relationships, and feeling a sense of belonging.

New OECD research (2026) shows school attendance problems (SAP) are widespread and increasing across many education systems, particularly post-pandemic. ‘Every morning, millions of children are expected to attend school. Yet many face barriers that prevent regular attendance. School attendance problems are no longer a marginal issue; they have become a challenge affecting classrooms in nearly every country.’

The 265-page report – Every Day Counts: Understanding, Preventing and Responding to School Attendance Problems – brings together findings from a 2025 OECD policy survey of 45 education systems, research literature, and international data from large-scale assessments to explore the extent of the issue, why students are missing school, and what can be done to help.

School attendance problems are rising

The report notes SAP have increased since the early 2010s in several education systems, although the picture is far from consistent; there are geographic variations, and differences between student self-reports and leader perceptions. However, it adds, ‘In many cases, it is the most vulnerable students who face the most significant barriers to consistent attendance.’

One challenge is language and terminology influencing how the issue is measured, interpreted and tackled. For example, some countries use the terms true truancy (where parents are not aware) and covert truancy (they are aware and can be complicit), and internal truancy or school escape (attending but skipping certain lessons). Some look at the percentage of time missed per term, others the number of classes missed. And classifying a student absence as ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’ can lead to vastly different interventions – from supports to legal action. Although all 45 education systems taking part in the 2025 survey reported a distinction between authorised and unauthorised absence, the triggers and thresholds differed.

Despite the challenges of system comparisons, data from OECD large-scale assessments such as PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) offer additional, valuable insights.

PISA, which involves secondary students (15-year-olds), includes both a student and school leader questionnaire. According to 2012 data, on average across the OECD, 24.8% of students reported skipping a whole school day or some classes at least once in the past 2 weeks before taking the PISA test; in 2018 it was 32.5% and in 2022 it was 31.3%. 

Data from the PISA leader questionnaire show an increase in the percentage of students in schools where leaders reported student truancy hindered learning – from 34.6% in 2012 to 41.7% in 2022.

Looking at the OECD average in the primary years (grade 4), ‘In 2015, 11.6% of fourth-grade students reported being absent from school once a week or every other week. This share fell to 10.7% in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and rose to 14.8% in 2023 (post-pandemic).’

Why students miss school

It’s a complex picture. There’s not a single driver of student absence – individual, family, school, community and structural factors can all be at play and interact with each other.

PISA 2022 asked students the reasons for their long-term absence (more than 3 consecutive months at any education level). On average across OECD countries, I was sick was by far the most common answer (approximately 70%), with the following reasons just under 20% or lower: I did not feel safe at school; I was bored; School was closed because of a natural disaster; I had to take care of a family member; I could not reach school because of transportation problems; I had to help with work at home, the family business or on the family land; I was suspended for something; I had to get work to bring money home; I was pregnant; I could not pay school fees.

The report highlights the fact that mental health difficulties can drive anxiety-based avoidance, low mood and greater use of medical appointments. ‘They also interact with school conditions (e.g. peer dynamics, academic stress and transitions) to turn short spells of absences into patterns of persistent non-attendance.’

Students can also be influenced both positively and negatively by their peers. If they see absence as the norm among their peers, it can nudge them to stay at home too, and problems with school friendships can also be a trigger. But the report says peers can also ‘buffer risks’ – familiar classmates from the previous year foster stability and connection and have been linked to lower absence.

Bullying (including online), weak school-family communication, and fragmented support all contribute to more student absence, and the classroom environment matters. ‘Disciplinary climate remains a significant predictor of long-term absence even in models that account for a range of other factors…’

What’s at stake?

SAP are associated with lower academic performance and poorer learning progress. But apart from missing lessons, teacher feedback, assessments and opportunities to learn from peers, SAP are also linked to ‘weaker executive functioning, lower motivation, reduced perseverance and lower educational aspirations, all of which can further undermine students’ capacity to learn’. The effects can start early and cause damage across different stages of schooling.

• Primary: student absences linked to weaker development of foundation skills
• Lower secondary: coincide with important academic and developmental transitions
• Upper secondary: remain damaging, particularly during key assessment periods

‘Internationally comparable [PISA] data suggest that, on average across OECD countries, students who reported they had been long-term absent display behaviours consistent with being less perseverant, curious, co-operative, empathetic, assertive, stress resistant, emotionally stable and with having a weaker growth mindset,’ the report reads.

Prior absences are a powerful predictor of subsequent absences, and repeated absence is a strong predictor of leaving learning education or training early. ‘Daily decisions and routines can form habits, those habits can settle into term-by-term patterns, and they can harden into trajectories across key developmental transitions.’

However, it isn’t destiny – things can gradually change. With that in mind, the report shares how educators can shift the trajectory and support students and their families.

Schools and teachers make a difference

Because there’s no single driver, it’s not surprising that there’s also no single measure to address the problem, with different systems and support services needing to work together. The OECD says it’s schools where system policies are translated into action in 3 broad areas.

Instructional adaptations: This could include adapting instruction for students unable to attend school because of medical conditions, using digital technologies (distance learning and telepresence robots) to ensure continuity of learning, and providing support and catch-up opportunities (including things like tutoring) when students return.

Supports: This involves talking to students and parents after absences to identify barriers to attendance, then working with other services to provide things like counselling, mental health support, transport and peer support programs.

Engagement and re-integration measures: This could mean drawing up an individual attendance improvement plan, being mindful of school transition points, putting peer support initiatives in place, offering extracurricular activities, and strengthening both student and parent engagement. 

The report says supportive school climates, strong school belonging, positive student-teacher relationships and stable peer networks have all been shown to lead to better attendance. Fostering a positive school climate is seen as a key policy for student engagement as it strengthens wellbeing and a sense of belonging.

‘Across education systems, efforts to strengthen student engagement through curriculum, particularly in the context of SAP, tend to converge around a number of core approaches. While these differ in design and emphasis, they broadly reflect attempts to make learning more relevant, flexible, personalised and supportive, thereby addressing some of the underlying drivers of disengagement and absence.’

It stresses the importance of practical, inclusive and relevant teaching that’s connected to students’ experiences – there is some evidence that ‘career-relevant’ instruction improves attendance at lower secondary, for example. ‘Viewing engagement as a core lever for attendance, rather than only academic attainment, can help reframe attendance policies from compliance towards participation and motivation.’

Schools should employ multi-tiered systems of support (from school-wide practices to targeted interventions often delivered to small groups, and intensive individual interventions). There’s also an important role for non-teaching staff, including school counsellors and psychologists, and home-school liaison officers. 

Raising awareness of attendance and the impact of student absences can help shape positive behaviours. This could include personalised messages to parents, regular reporting on attendance, and community-wide engagement.

As the report points out, effective intervention strategies and supports can only be put in place once the school is aware of the problem and underlying issues – that means timely access to data, and an understanding of why students are absent.

Building staff capacity

Initial and ongoing professional learning to strengthen teacher capacity is emerging as an important lever to improve student attendance. 

The 2025 OECD study found that in 15 out of 44 education systems, teachers are required to undertake continuing professional learning (CPL) covering how to address student absence, 11 require school leaders to undertake CPL in this area, and in 8 systems the requirement applies to other school staff. The report notes the absence of a formal requirement in some systems does not necessarily mean that there is no training available on SAP – this can sometimes be covered during other programs. Only 15 of the surveyed systems require school attendance to be included in initial teacher education.

The report also highlights the need to build school staff capacity in data interpretation, so they can identify students who are at risk early and take coordinated action before attendance problems become entrenched.

Student voice and family engagement

Listening to the voices of students and parents is another crucial element of shaping effective policies, including in schools. 

In the OECD survey, education systems report using a variety of methods to collect student voice, including surveys, contributions through peer support or mentoring programs, focus groups or consultations, and directly involving students in decision-making processes – for example, through student and youth councils and advisory groups.

‘When parents are engaged as partners, they might be motivated to help identify attendance barriers early and contribute to more sustainable solutions,’ the report adds. ‘… programmes can help parents better understand attendance expectations, identify early warning signs of disengagement and feel more empowered to support their children’s schooling.’ Useful strategies for schools include regular check-ins, outreach and workshops, particularly when they’re combined with relationship building strategies. 

‘However, the effectiveness of these interventions depends on their ability to address structural barriers (such as work constraints, language differences or mistrust of institutions) that may limit parental participation in the first place.’

References

OECD. (2026). Every Day Counts: Understanding, Preventing and Responding to School Attendance Problems. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/7c6f6c3e-en

OECD. (2025). OECD Policy Survey on School Attendance Problems.