Schools implementing comprehensive student success systems are achieving substantial reductions in chronic absenteeism and course failure rates — two critical predictors of high school graduation — according to new data released by the GRAD Partnership.
The Year Two Impact Report, released last Monday by the Baltimore-based initiative, shows that middle and high schools using student success systems reduced average chronic absenteeism rates by 8 percentage points and course failure rates by 11 percentage points over two years of implementation.
Most notably, schools supported by the GRAD Partnership outperformed national trends. Despite having chronic absenteeism rates above the national average at the end of the 2021-22 school year, their rates fell below the estimated national rate for 2023-24.
“This report provides compelling evidence that student success systems can drive measurable progress for students and help schools turn the tide on persistent, post-pandemic challenges,” said Dr. Robert Balfanz, director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, where the GRAD Partnership is housed.
Schools that began implementing student success systems in 2022-23 and continued in 2023-24 demonstrated remarkable progress:
These gains come as schools nationwide continue struggling to recover from pandemic-related disruptions. While the national chronic absenteeism rate fell from 28% to an estimated 23% over the same period, it remains well above the pre-pandemic level of 15%.
The persistent challenge is reflected in National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, which remain below pre-pandemic levels across all tested grades and subjects, with two-thirds of American fourth and eighth graders performing below proficiency in math and reading.
