Released by ACARA this week, the 2024 National Report on Schooling in Australia reveals attendance rates for students in Years 1-10 have not returned to their pre-COVID levels, with the national rate sitting at 88.3 per cent, down from 88.6 per cent the previous year.

The percentage of students who attended school regularly (at or above 90 per cent of the time) was also down from 2023, dropping from 61.6 per cent to 59.8 per cent in 2024.

Tellingly, in 2019 the national attendance rate was 91.4 per cent, with attendance levels sitting at 73.1 per cent.

Reporting by state and territory and school sector, the research found the attendance rate was highest for independent schools (91 per cent), followed by Catholic schools (90.1 per cent) and then government schools (87.1 per cent).

Attendance rates improved with schools’ level of socio-educational advantage, and were higher for students in major cities (89.2 per cent) than for those in remote areas (81 per cent).

There was minimal difference in the national attendance rate for girls (88.4 per cent) and boys (88.2 per cent).

Shadow Minister for Education Sarah Henderson has raised alarm over the findings, claiming the figures point toward “the devastating impact of Labor’s inaction on getting students back on track” after the COVID period.

“…Despite repeated warnings, the Albanese Government and Education Minister Jason Clare have failed to implement meaningful reforms to lift attendance, tackle student disengagement, and restore confidence in our schools,” Henderson said.

According to The Australian, Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has said school attendance rates have dropped since 2015 because the former Coalition government failed to include attendance targets in its National School Reform Agreement with state and territory governments.

Echoing results from previous years, the 2024 report found attendance rates dropped in secondary schooling.

Nationally, the average attendance rate for students in Years 7-10 was 85.9 per cent, compared with 90 per cent for children in Years 1-6.

Three states scored higher attendance rates last year, with SA, WA and Tasmania all showing increases of 0.4 percentage points since 2023.

Declines in attendance rates in the other states ranged from 0.2 percentage points in Queensland, to 0.6 percentage points in NSW and 0.7 percentage points in Victoria.

The NT had the lowest attendance rate of all states and territories (76.7 per cent).

In 2023, the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) investigated student attendance in schools nationally at the request of education ministers.

Its research reports, released in December, highlight the ‘most promising’ approaches for schools in tackling the issue of student absenteeism, with researchers proposing the a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework as the most effective overarching strategy to adopt.

“The MTSS model applied to student attendance offers a range of benefits for schools, including assisting with the judicious allocation of a school’s resources, orienting schools towards the use of evidence-based interventions relevant to each level of support, and encouraging data-driven decision-making about the type and intensity of support that is needed,” one AERO report noted.

Research shows improved academic outcomes for students when MTSS models are implemented, and the field of school attendance ‘awaits similar research’, it added.

“Programs that combine strategies focused on supporting attendance across multiple tiers had promising evidence of their impact on attendance...

“In theory, when schools invest adequate resources in Tier 1 interventions, fewer students will need the extra resources associated with Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions.”

The research proposed a promising universal or Tier 1 approach, when implemented with fidelity, is ‘positive behaviour interventions and supports’, also known as School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) and Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL). 

ACARA’s report also shows a rise in the proportion of children classified as disabled, with disability rates climbing from 19.9 per cent of all students in 2019 to 26.8 per cent in 2024.

While the proportion of students with a physical disability dropped from 2.5 per cent in 2019 to 2.2 per cent last year, cognitive and socio-emotional disability rates have climbed, with more than a quarter now in need of extra support in the classroom.

Some 2.5 per cent of all students were provided with ‘extensive adjustments’ to enable them to participate in class on the same basis as their peers.

A further 4.7 per cent were provided with ‘substantial support’ and 11.1 per cent with ‘supplementary support’.

Meanwhile, 7.3 per cent of students were supported through differentiated teaching practices.