Attendance Matters – A Look at What the Data says
Attendance Patterns Impacts Test Scores
EOC staff examined attendance data and test scores from a sample of 493,609 public school students in South Carolina.
The students were in 3rd through 12th grade during the 2023-2024 school year.
The following charts illustrate the percentage of students, grouped by attendance pattern, who scored Meets/Exceeds or Non-Proficient on SC READY ELA, SC READY Math and End of Course Biology I and End of Course US History & Constitution.

Attendance Definitions:
Perfect Attendance: Attended all days enrolled (zero absences)
Excellent Attendance: Absent for less than 5% of days enrolled
Good Attendance: Absent at least 5% but fewer than 10% of days enrolled
Chronically Absent: Absent at least 10% but fewer than 15% of days enrolled
Very Chronically Absent: Absent at least 15% but fewer than 20% of days
Extremely Chronically Absent: Absent for 20% or more of days enrolled