According to a report released on May 7 by the Connecticut Department of Education, there are many accomplishments for the state to celebrate, including decreased rates of chronic absenteeism and the fact that more high school juniors and seniors than ever are taking college and career readiness courses.

The report also points to some areas where the state needs to improve, including performance in English Language Arts (ELA) and the rate of college completion in six years or fewer, which has been in a steady decline over the past five years, according to the report.

Total enrollment had been hovering around 513,000 students since 2020-21, but in the 2024-25 school year it declined to 508,402, primarily due to a new requirement that children have to be 5 years old as of Sept. 1 to enter kindergarten in that year. 

Enrollment in adult education increased 20.8 percent from 2022-23 to 2023-24, the third consecutive year of growth over 20 percent, “surpassing pre-pandemic enrollment numbers for the first time since 2020-21,” the report states.

Decrease in Chronic Absenteeism 

According to the state’s website, chronic absence from learning is defined as missing at least 10 percent of the total number of dates enrolled during the school year. “Just two days per month can lead to chronic absence. It includes both excused, unexcused, and out-of-school suspensions,” the website states. 

The recently issued report notes that the chronic absenteeism rate was 20 percent for 2022-23 and down to 17.7 percent in 2023-24, decreasing the most for Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and multiracial students.

The report did point out that “chronic absenteeism rates for all student groups remain significantly higher than their pre-pandemic levels.”

The Department of Education’s School Is Better with You campaign was created to help raise awareness of the importance of attending school. When the program was announced in late 2023, officials reported that more than 5,400 parents and caregivers outlined several factors that impact attendance, including mental health issues and chronic illness.

The report refers to the School is Better with You campaign and various other programs that help to provide mental health services and enrichment opportunities in the summer, making resources available for students who are experiencing homelessness and housing instability. 

Juniors and Seniors Taking College and Career Readiness Courses

The report states that more than 90 percent of 11th- and 12th-grade students are taking courses to prepare them for college and careers, which is the highest number ever. 

But while enrollment rates into colleges have gone up, the rate of students graduating from college in six years or fewer has decreased, the report states.  

Regarding the college enrollment rate increase to 68.4 percent for the class of 2023, the report notes that “these rates remain lower than pre-COVID levels, which were steady around 71 percent, but represent a pattern of recovery toward pre-COVID levels.” 

The rate of college graduation by six years after high school declined slightly, from 48.2 percent for the class of 2017 to 47.8 percent for the class of 2018, the fifth straight year of decline, according to the report. 

Through the Dual Credit Expansion Grant, the state has awarded $3.8 million to 89 school districts to assist students in getting college credits for courses they take in high school. 

Math and Science Scores Up; Mixed Results for ELA

Most student groups showed improvement in math and science, with overall achievement in these areas improving for the second consecutive year, according to the report, but there were mixed results in ELA.

A common theme for many grades is that they are trailing pre-pandemic levels of achievement across many categories. The report states that “across the grades, proficiency rates trail pre-pandemic levels by about five to seven percentage points in ELA, about two to five percentage points in mathematics, and about one to three percentage points in science.”