School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS)
Category: Student Well-Being
Student attendance declined during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. There is little evidence explaining the decline. This study examines the role of remote learning. In Michigan, compared to students never provided with remote-only learning in 2020-21, students provided with remote-only learning for 1-2 months had no decline in attendance post-pandemic, and those provided with remote-only learning for 3-7 months missed about two additional days per school year, with more absences for the few students provided with remote-only learning for 8-9 months. The negative association between remote learning duration in 2020-21 and attendance weakened over time. These results suggest that exposure to remote learning may explain a small part of the decline in student attendance post-pandemic.