Zalkind, Cecelia, Mary Coogan and Robert Sterling. Advocates for Children of New Jersey, August 2015. An analysis of data collected by the New Jersey Department of Education documents that more than 125,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade missed 10 percent or more of the 2013-14 school year. The report provide breakdowns for each county, as well as looking at attendance among key student populations. The chronic absence rate for kindergartners is as high as that for high school students. Children of color and those with disabilities also had disproportionately high rates of absenteeism.