State of Tennessee

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2018-19 Chronic Absenteeism and Discipline

Tennessee public school students are considered chronically absent if they are absent for 10 percent or more instructional days for any reason, including excused absences and out-of-school suspensions. The chronic absenteeism rate is the percent of students who are chronically absent. Excessive absences from school represent lost instructional time for a student. Due to the impacts of COVID-19, absenteeism data was only partially collected in the 2019-20 school year and is not comparable to prior years. As a result, chronic absenteeism information on this page reflects the latest comparable information available, from the 2018-19 school year.

Some data are not available and have been suppressed for privacy. If you have questions about data suppression, please review our suppression rules here.

2018-19 Chronic absenteeism

What does this mean?

This value reflects the chronic absenteeism rate for this school or district. This information shows us the percent of students who are chronically absent.

Why is this important?

Tennessee students who are chronically absent miss critical instruction, which often affects their academic outcomes. For example, students who are chronically absent are less likely to read at grade level (read more here), so schools and districts monitor this number.

Chronic absenteeism over time

What does this mean?

This figure shows the rate of chronic absenteeism over time for a school or district.

Why is this important?

Chronic absenteeism trends are important because they allow us to see whether or not schools or districts are making improvements to absenteeism over time.

2018-19 Chronic absenteeism by group

What does this mean?

These values show the rate of chronic absenteeism across various student groups.

Why is this important?

Chronic absenteeism rates can vary across schools and districts and across different groups of students.

2018-19 Student Discipline Indicators

This section displays information about student discipline, including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions in the figures below.

2018-19 In-school Suspensions

What does this mean?

In-school suspensions indicate when a student is present at school but removed from the classroom environment. This rate reflects the percentage of students who received at least one in-school suspension during the 2018-19 school year.

Why is this important?

Student discipline practices vary across schools and districts.

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2018-19 Out-of-school Suspensions

What does this mean?

Out-of-school suspensions indicate when a student is absent from school as a result of a discipline-related event. This rate reflects the percentage of students who receive at least one out-of-school suspension throughout the 2018-19 school year.

Why is this important?

Student discipline practices vary across schools and districts.

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2018-19 Expulsions

What does this mean?

This rate reflects the percentage of students who were expelled in the 2018-19 school year.

Why is this important?

Student discipline practices vary across schools and districts.

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