by Anthony Gockowski
The number of Minnesota students who consistently attend school has dropped by 15% since 2019, according to state Department of Education data released last week.
The annual North Star Accountability Report tracks “consistent attendance,” which is defined as the number of students who attend school at least 90% of the time and are not chronically absent.
Since 2019, the last time attendance data was released, the number of students with consistent attendance records has dropped from 85% to 69.8%, according to data for the 2021-22 school year.
In Minneapolis, the number of students consistently attending school that year was just 45.8%.
The data also found that, based on 2023 statewide assessments, 50.3% of students are not proficient in reading and 54.7% are not proficient in math.
“We will not shy away from what the data are telling us,” said Department of Education Commissioner Willie Jett. ”These results send a renewed sense of urgency and underscore the importance of key supports that are already underway.”
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Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and reported for The Daily Caller.
