This semester, LAUSD succeeded in moving the needle on two key post-pandemic goals: boosting graduation rates and cutting chronic absenteeism. But when it comes to learning loss, test scores this year show that student literacy decreased slightly, while math only marginally improved.
And with about $5.6 billion in COVID-era federal relief funds expiring in September 2024, the district will face fresh financial challenges in the new year.
On the bright side, both attendance and graduation were up this semester. Graduation rates at LAUSD recently surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The district’s 2022-23 four-year graduation rate is 84.0%, which is a 4.9% increase from the rate in 2018-19.
At the peak of the pandemic approximately 46% of all LAUSD students were chronically absent — meaning they missed 10% or more of their school days during the year. During the 2022 to 2023 school year, chronic absenteeism had dropped to 36% and Carvalho said it dropped another 10% this semester.
“I think one thing L.A. Unified has done well is to put a very intentional focus on student enrollment and attendance,” said Tyrone Howard, associate dean of UCLA’s graduate school of education. “I’ve talked to a number of principals who say they’ve got designated social workers and attendance specialists who are making phone calls, sending emails, and even knocking on doors talking to parents and students to get them back in the classroom.”
“That has been huge because you can’t help students who aren’t there.”
Average daily attendance is also comparable to pre-pandemic levels. While daily attendance dropped to around 80% during the pandemic it now hovers around 93%, Carvalho said.
He attributes a lot of the improvement to the district’s iAttend campaign, where he and other staff members paid home visits to more than 23,000 chronically absent students in the last two years.
Carvalho also highlighted the positive impact on student learning by having every…
Read the full article here
