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The state of the American teenager
Fox News
From the dislocating effects of the pandemic that impacted teens' academic and social development to the effects of widespread smartphone use, there are plenty of reasons to be concerned.
Colyn Ritter is a senior research associate at EdChoice, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to advance educational freedom and choice for all students as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society.
Recently, we polled a nationally representative sample of teenagers. They told us some worrying things.
First, there are few problems in education more pressing than the wave of chronic absenteeism sweeping across the nation. According to Nat Malkus at the American Enterprise Institute, the number of students who missed more than 10% of the school year rose from 15% to 28% of students from 2018 to 2022. A recent Pew survey of teachers showed 92% saying that chronic absenteeism was a problem among students who attend their school.