chronic-absenteeism
7 NC Districts Hit All-Time High Chronic Absence in 2024
Despite statewide improvement, 7 districts recorded their worst-ever chronic absenteeism rates in 2023-24, including Warren County at 53.9%.
North Carolina
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of North Carolina, grounded in North Carolina Department of Education data.
Rural Districts Have the Highest Chronic Absence Rates in NC
Warren County (53.9%), Halifax (51.0%), and Northampton (50.5%) lead a rural corridor where half of students miss a month or more of school.
Mooresville: The Only NC District Above 95%
Mooresville Graded School District is the only district in North Carolina to reach a 95% graduation rate, up from 64% in 2006 and above 90% for nine straight years.
Winston-Salem's Chronic Absence Rate Peaked at Twice Its Pre-COVID Level
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools has a 32.1% chronic absence rate, the second-highest among NC's five largest districts, and 10.5 points above its pre-COVID level.
Charter Schools Closed the Gap: From 14 Points Behind to Dead Even
NC charter high schools have closed a 14-point graduation gap with traditional schools since 2006 while quadrupling in number. But convergence masks enormous school-to-school variance.
More Coverage
graduation-rate
The LEP Rollercoaster: From 55% to 73%, With a Definition Change Along the Way
English learners in NC have the most volatile graduation trajectory of any subgroup — spiking, crashing, and spiking again as the cohort more than doubled and the definition changed.
district-spotlight
Davidson County Cut Its Chronic Rate by 18 Points in Two Years
Davidson County Schools dropped from 29.4% to 11.4% chronic absence, the largest North Carolina district to improve this far this fast.
special-populations
NC's Special Education Attendance Gap Widened 50% After COVID
Students with disabilities have a 32.4% chronic absence rate in NC, 7.4 points above the overall average. The gap was roughly 5 points before the pandemic.
graduation-rate
NC Students With Disabilities Gained 22 Graduation Points Since 2006. The Gap to the State Average Held at 15.
North Carolina students who receive special education services graduate at 71.6%, up nearly 22 points since 2006. But the gap to the state average has held near 15 points.
demographics
Hispanic Students Climbed From 52% to 83% in 18 Years
Hispanic students in North Carolina have cut the white-Hispanic graduation gap from 21 points to 6.5 while their cohort grew nearly fivefold. A 2024 breakout may signal the end of a 7-year plateau.
demographics
NC's English Learners Went from Below-Average to Above-Average Absence
English learners in North Carolina had lower chronic absence than the state average before COVID. Now they are 3.9 points above it, a complete reversal.
achievement-gap
The White-Black Graduation Gap Halved, But Progress Has Stalled
North Carolina cut the white-Black graduation gap from 13 points to 5 in a decade. Then it stopped narrowing. The remaining gap means about 1,800 Black students per year who would graduate at white rates.
district-spotlight
Durham's Chronic Absence Recovery Has Stalled at 37%
Durham Public Schools improved from a 41% peak to 37%, then flatlined. The district has the highest chronic rate among NC's 30,000+ student districts.
district-spotlight
Guilford County: From 74% to a Record 92%, Outpacing Every Large NC District
Guilford County Schools just posted a record 92.2% graduation rate, the highest of any large NC district. The state's third-largest system hasn't dipped below 89% since 2016.
equity
NC's Black-White Chronic Absence Gap Nearly Doubled After COVID
North Carolina's Black-White chronic absenteeism gap widened from 6.7 to 11.7 points after COVID, and every racial gap followed the same pattern.
