Report shows third of students miss too much school

A new report shows students from one state are missing school at an alarming rate, while for a certain group of students the attendance rate is much worse.

A third of NSW students miss school “at a level placing their education at risk” and the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students continues to increase, a new report has found.

The report from the NSW Auditor-General’s office said just 42.7 per cent of Aboriginal students in years one to 10 attended most of their school days during the first semester of 2021.

Among non-Indigenous students, about three in 10 regularly missed school.

About 35 per cent of schools – 775 out of 2200 – had an average attendance rate below 90 per cent, the report found.

NSW students miss school at an alarming rate, the report found. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

“Aboriginal student attendance is significantly below non-Aboriginal students and there is no specific strategy to address this gap,” Auditor-General Margaret Crawford said.

“The department needs to place greater attention on supporting schools to lift student attendance.”

Ms Crawford said regular school attendance was important for both academic and other long-term outcomes, and that students who don’t go to class regularly are more likely to experience poor health and social outcomes.

The NSW government’s education department has put in place a strategic plan where improving student attendance was noted as a priority.

The department would like to see students attending school at least 95 per cent of the time.

The report looked at data from the first semesters of 2018, 2019, and 2021.

The report made a number of recommendations to improve attendance levels. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The year 2020, and the current year, were excluded because of Covid-related disruptions which would have skewed the data.

A comparison between the years 2018, 2019 and 2021 showed attendance rates had fallen steadily during that time.

• 2018: 74 per cent attended at least 90 per cent of the time;
• 2019: 73.1 per cent attended at least 90 per cent of the time;
• 2021: 67.9 per cent attended at least 90 per cent of the time;

For Aboriginal students, attendance levels declined as well.

• 2018: 52.7 per cent attended at least 90 per cent of the time;
• 2019: 51.9 per cent attended at least 90 per cent of the time;
• 2021: 42.7 per cent attended at least 90 per cent of the time;

The report recommended setting new attendance targets, evaluating and updating attendance programs, publishing attendance data in annual reports and reviewing programs which support Aboriginal students.