Indiana schools have historically struggled with attendance data that arrived too late and in inconsistent formats, making it hard to spot warning signs before students became chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). Year-over-year comparisons were difficult, and by the time patterns emerged, many students were already deep into an absenteeism pattern.
To fix this, the Indiana Department of Education built Attendance Insights, a dashboard giving educators a weekly, near-real-time view of attendance trends. The initiative relies on the Ed-Fi Data Standard to create a consistent statewide definition of daily attendance, so patterns stay clear and comparable even as students move between schools and districts. With this shared data foundation, educators can break down attendance by day, week, or month, compare current trends against prior years, and identify which days or student populations need the most attention. Built-in data quality checks help ensure the numbers are reliable, giving school teams confidence to act on what they see.
The results have been measurable: since Attendance Insights launched, Indiana has reduced chronic absenteeism for two consecutive years, with the statewide rate dropping from a post-pandemic peak of 21.1% to 17.8%. According to Indiana's Chief Information Officer John Keller, having everyone see the same data story makes it easier for schools to coordinate support and intervene faster.
Indiana is now building on this progress by combining attendance data with behavior and course-outcome data for students in grades 6 through 12. The aim is to flag students at risk of falling off track toward graduation, with particular focus on the transition from eighth to ninth grade — a point when students are especially likely to disengage. Overall, the story illustrates how standardizing and speeding up access to attendance data let Indiana shift from reactive record-keeping to proactive, earlier intervention for students.
This Story from the Field is a supplement to the 2026 Project Unicorn State of the Sector Report which analyzes K-12 school system capabilities and infrastructure for leveraging education data. Read the full report.
