It's back-to-school season, a time that conjures images of classrooms full of eager learners. But the reality is that chronic absenteeism is keeping millions of students away from school far more often than you might think.
New RAND surveys of school district leaders and American youths reveal several key insights about this persistent challenge:
Chronic absenteeism in the 2024–2025 school year remained above pre-pandemic levels.
In roughly half of urban school districts, more than 30 percent of students were chronically absent. That’s a far higher share of students than in rural or suburban districts.
One-quarter of youths do not think being chronically absent is a problem.
District leaders report using multiple strategies to help keep attendance up, and it's unclear exactly why high rates of chronic absenteeism persist. “The bottom line,” our researchers write, “is that chronic absenteeism is a glaring problem—especially for urban districts. It is likely that many, if not most, students who are not physically present fall behind.”
China is quietly constructing an “influence ecosystem” in the greater Black Sea region, says RAND's Michael Cecire. This includes energy corridors, digital infrastructure, free-trade frameworks, and political alignments. Russia complements these efforts by destabilizing NATO’s periphery (which includes the Black Sea) and becoming increasingly reliant on Beijing. According to Cecire, tracking China's activities “is essential for understanding the strategic future of the Black Sea and broader Eurasia.”
Manufacturing jobs in a decade or even five years from now will require education, training, and skills that are in short supply today. Further, it's unclear what skills will be needed or when these new jobs will come online. Some states are taking important steps to address this challenge. Indiana, for example, is investing in apprenticeships for advanced manufacturing, robotics, and biotech. According to RAND experts, learning from such initiatives can chart “a path to the right types of skills at the right times for the jobs of the future.”
On Policy Minded, we pick the brains of the world’s top policy experts. In each episode, RAND researchers join us for conversations that go beyond the headlines—bringing you insights you can't find anywhere else.
