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PGCPS officials warn rising chronic absenteeism is linked to lower core-course outcomes
Summary
At the Dec. 15 committee meeting, PGCPS staff reported quarter‑1 increases in chronic absenteeism (elementary ~17%→19%, middle 12%→16%, high school 25%→28%) and presented data showing chronically absent students have markedly higher failing rates and lower pass rates, especially for multilingual learners and students with disabilities at the high-school level.
Anthony Whittington, instructional supervisor for elementary reading and English language arts, presented the committee with quarter‑1 chronic absenteeism data and its relationship to core-content course performance. Whittington defined chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of membership days and said the measure counts for 15% of Maryland state report-card accountability.
Whittington reported increases in chronic absenteeism in quarter 1 compared with the prior year: elementary rising from about 17% to 19% (as presented), middle school from about 12% to 16%, and high school from about 25% to 28%. He cautioned the calculation resets daily and numbers can change as days pass and data are updated.
The presentation showed a…
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