The 50% Challenge: Crafting a State Road Map
Step 3: Prioritize Route(s)
Once the team has selected the statewide 50% reduction goal to improve attendance and identified the student groups or districts most affected by chronic absence, the next step is to determine where the state can make the greatest difference and how the state will act in a coherent, sustainable way to support LEAs.
In this step state teams will:
- Engage in a discussion about core drivers or root causes of chronic absence in the state
- Select a priority area to focus on based on that discussion
Defining priority routes
A priority route is a strategic focus area that the state team and key partners believe can have an outsized impact on improving student engagement and attendance. Priority routes are not individual programs or initiatives. Rather, they represent major pathways for statewide action worthy of the investment of limited time, funding and staff capacity.
Fundamentally, priority routes answer a values-driven question: Where could the state make the biggest difference for students most affected by chronic absence?
Based upon our experience in working with states and hundreds of districts, gathering insights into likely causes of chronic absence post-pandemic and analysis of available research, we suggest the five major routes (below) as possible state priorities.
Together, these routes reflect the growing understanding that reducing chronic absence requires a tiered, prevention-first approach — one that invests in the positive conditions for learning that motivate students and families to attend school consistently. Research shows that sustained improvement comes not from punitive responses, but from partnering with students and families to understand barriers and co-develop meaningful solutions.
States will often pursue more than one priority route. Collectively, the selected routes should be sufficient to achieve the ambitious — but achievable — goal of reducing chronic absence by 50%.
Selecting a priority route: impact and feasibility
When selecting a priority route, state teams should consider which path is most likely to lead to the greatest benefit for students and families most affected by chronic absence — within the context of the available state levers.
In this toolkit, SEA levers are the primary tools and conditions state teams can use to influence systems, shape district practice and sustain progress over time. These levers include policy, regulation and standards, funding, data collection and reporting, capacity building, etc. Levers do not determine priorities; they help state teams assess what is realistic and sustainable given the state’s environment, authority and capacity. Click here to learn more about SEA levers.
As state teams consider potential priority routes, they should weigh both impact and feasibility, using SEA levers as a practical lens. Consider the following questions when choosing a route.
- Student impact. Would greater investment in this route make the biggest difference for students, families and communities most affected by chronic absence?
- Alignment with available state levers. Does the state have tools it can realistically use to advance this route (e.g., policy, funding, data systems, capacity building, communication, cross-agency coordination)?
- Strengths to build on. What existing assets, programs, initiatives, and bright spots could be leveraged or scaled up using available levers?
- Policy and resources. Do current policies, funding structures and accountability expectations reinforce this route or would they need to be aligned?
- District readiness and support needs. What guidance, technical assistance or capacity building would districts need — and which state levers could provide that support?
- Partnership landscape. Which agencies, organizations or partners would states need to engage to advance this route, and is the state able to convene or coordinate with them?
Selecting priority routes is both a strategic and values-based decision. By centering student needs and using SEA levers to assess feasibility, state teams can focus on where they can make the greatest difference. With this understanding, the team is ready to move from focus to action by identifying the key actions that will drive meaningful and lasting improvement.