Out of Sight Out of Mind? Your Guide to Post-COVID Attendance Data and Recovery [Part 1]

Research shows that students who miss just 10% of the school year are significantly less likely to read on grade level, graduate on time, or stay engaged.

Chronic absenteeism is a reliable early warning sign of academic risk, yet it remains a challenge to monitor and address in real time. Research shows that students who miss just 10% of the school year are significantly less likely to read on grade level, graduate on time, or stay engaged.

COVID cratered attendance in America. Every grade, every school is struggling with school attendance. It's almost like there was a cultural reset on community expectations for school engagement and now we have to rebuild the entire culture of attendance from the ground up. 

You can't fix what you can't see; too often an absent student is not just out of sight, but also out of mind.

The Power of Presence 

The Louisiana Department of Education recently sounded the alarm on this drastic trend with their landmark guide The Power of Presence. You should absolutely read this guide, but to summarize it broadly the guide covers the basics of what chronic absenteeism is, posits strategies for systems, and clarifies the required responses in policy and statute. It’s an excellent overview, and I want to dive in particular to the section on Attendance Data Management (starting on page 7). 

By collecting attendance data, school systems can understand the specific populations and craft tiered interventions. This attendance data collection should be relatively detailed, pulling in subgroup identifiers. 

Why does attendance data need to be so detailed in its collection? Because school systems need to not just collect data, they need to analyze it and set goals for addressing it. Great data is the first step for a great response.

Addressing Chronic Absenteeism

To meet the challenge of making post-COVID absences visible, education organizations don't need fancy new software or a different attendance taking system. The very first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole? Stop digging.

Start first with getting your attendance data visible. The second thing to do when you're in a hole? Get somebody to help pull you out.

Attendance is a nuanced problem and it requires multiple stakeholders. You cannot approach attendance as a student/parent problem; it is a symptom of broader issues in the community and requires holistic solutions. As The Power of Presence explains, stakeholder engagement will include not just parents but also health systems, businesses, and faith-based communities. 

But you can't get community engagement to address the issue unless the community is aware of the issue. Let's dig in here on how one community got its attendance data visible.

Attendance Dashboard 101: Making The Invisible Visible

What should a dashboard do? If we think a picture is worth 1000 words, a dashboard should take a thousand words and condense it into a few pictures.

Think of a stop sign. We post big red octagonal signs at intersections instead of a paragraph on courtesy and safe road expectations. Why? Because everyone can see, and follow, the visuals. Your dashboard needs to be like that- simple graphics everyone can look at and say "woah, I need to pay attention."

Attendance is a community-level problem; visuals make communication across broad spectrums of stakeholders simpler.

Examples of attendance dashboard in 2025

A terrific example of this is Iberville Parish, where they partnered with IDS to launch an innovative, public-facing Attendance Dashboard, which is directly integrated with their student information system. This tool updates daily with prior-day attendance data.

This dashboard is available not just to school and district leaders! It's publicly accessible so families and community partners get visibility. The shared community understanding of the problem provides the urgency to act early.

Now, all stakeholders are empowered to see trends in truancy and chronic absenteeism across:

• Grade levels

• Schools

• Student subgroups

• Year-over-year comparisons

• Specific attendance issues (early checkouts, unexcused absences)

  
  

What does this do for the community? It gives quick points where adults can intervene and provide support.

Explore the live dashboard here. 

Thoughts and next actions

Are you seeing a post-COVID attendance dip? What strategies has your school tried to combat chronic absenteeism? We invite you to share your stories with us. We’d love to show you how the Attendance Dashboard can help your team move the needle on student absenteeism. Schedule a quick demo today to learn more!

About Instructional Data Solutions: Our mission is to remove barriers to enable education organizations to focus on what matters most. We assist school systems and education organizations of all sizes by collecting, analyzing, and clearly communicating data. We are committed to empowering educators through comprehensive data analytics and tailored support. Additionally, we provide dedicated support for operational needs, process improvement, and special projects, offering customized solutions to enhance effectiveness and success. Our solutions bridge the gap between data collection and instructional improvement in PK-12 settings.