Skip to main content

Mobile Navigation

  • National
    • Policy
      • High Expectations
      • Quality Choices
      • Personalized Pathways
    • Research
    • Commentary
      • Gadfly Newsletter
      • Flypaper Blog
    • Events
    • Scholars Program
  • Ohio
    • Policy
      • Priorities
      • Media & Testimony
    • Research
    • Commentary
      • Ohio Education Gadfly Biweekly
      • Ohio Gadfly Daily
  • Charter Authorizing
    • Application
    • Sponsored Schools
    • Resources
  • About
    • Mission
    • Board
    • Staff
    • Career
Home
Home
Advancing Educational Excellence

Main Navigation

  • National
  • Ohio
  • Charter Authorizing
  • About

National Menu

  • Topics
    • Accountability & Testing
    • Advanced Education
    • Career & Technical Education
    • Charter Schools
    • Curriculum & Instruction
    • ESSA
    • Evidence-Based Learning
    • Facilities
    • Governance
    • Personalized Learning
    • Private School Choice
    • School Finance
    • Standards
    • Teachers & School Leaders
    • Think Again
  • Research
  • Commentary
    • Gadfly Newsletter
    • Flypaper Blog
    • Gadfly Podcast
  • Events
  • Scholars Program
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube
Podcast

#876: The chronic absenteeism crisis, and what to do about it, with Alia Wong

Alia Wong Michael J. Petrilli Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. David Griffith, Ph.D.
6.28.2023
 

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alia Wong of USA Today joins Mike and David to discuss what’s causing chronic absenteeism and ways to fix it. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a California study that investigates the extent to which a small group of teachers exacerbates racial gaps in school discipline.

Recommended content:

  • “Showing up to school was hard amid COVID. Why aren’t kids (or teachers) returning to class?” — Alia Wong
  • “When students feel unsafe, absenteeism grows” —Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. and Christian Eggers
  • “Imperfect Attendance: Toward a fairer measure of student absenteeism” —Jing Liu
  • “3 years since the pandemic wrecked attendance, kids still aren't showing up to school” —NPR
  • The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Jing Liu, Emily K. Penner and Wenjing Gao, Troublemakers? The Role of Frequent Teacher Referrers in Expanding Racial Disciplinary Disproportionalities, American Educational Research Association (June 2023)

Feedback Welcome:

Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at [email protected].

Policy Priority:
High Expectations
Topics:
Accountability & Testing
Teachers & School Leaders
Alia Wong Headshot

Alia is an enterprise reporter at USA TODAY who covers inequities in education. She formerly covered education for The Atlantic and Honolulu Civil Beat.

President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, executive editor of Education Next, editor in chief of the Education Gadfly Weekly, host of the…

View Full Bio

Amber Northern is senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she supervises the Institute’s robust research portfolio and…

View Full Bio

David Griffith is the National Research Director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where he manages or authors reports on various subjects including charter schools, …

View Full Bio

Related Resources

view Early literacy progress on report cards blog image
Standards & Accountability

State report cards offer good news and bad news in reading

Jessica Poiner 9.21.2026
OhioBlog
view Gadfly Bites logo
School Funding

Gadfly Bites 9/21/26—Honesty and integrity

Jeff Murray 9.21.2026
OhioBlog
view Ohio charter news logo
School Choice

Ohio Charter News Weekly – 9.18.26

Jeff Murray 9.18.2026
OhioBlog
Fordham Logo

© 2026 The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Privacy Policy
Usage Agreement

National

P.O. Box 110
Burke, VA 22009

202.223.5452

[email protected]

Ohio

P.O. Box 82291
Columbus, OH 43202

614.223.1580

[email protected]

Sponsorship

130 West Second Street, Suite 410
Dayton, Ohio 45402

937.227.3368

[email protected]