The latest published Washington state attendance dashboard for Seattle School District No. 1 covers the 2024–25 school year. Regular attendance was highest in 5th grade at 84.3% and lowest in 12th grade at 55.6%. Across Washington, 72.9% of students met the state’s regular-attendance measure in 2024–25. The district data show a clear grade pattern: attendance is strongest through much of elementary school and becomes lower in the later secondary grades.
84.3%5th grade regular attendance
55.6%12th grade regular attendance
72.9%Washington statewide
Seattle Public Schools Attendance by Grade
Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction reports regular attendance by grade for Seattle School District No. 1. The 2024–25 figures range from 84.3% in 5th grade to 55.6% in 12th grade. The chart and table use the state’s published Seattle district regular-attendance dashboard.
Percent of students meeting Washington’s regular-attendance measure.
Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2024–25 Report Card data for Seattle School District No. 1.
| Grade | Regular Attendance | Chronically Absent |
|---|---|---|
| Full-Day Kindergarten | 79.9% | 20.1% |
| 1st Grade | 82.2% | 17.8% |
| 2nd Grade | 82.5% | 17.5% |
| 3rd Grade | 83.4% | 16.6% |
| 4th Grade | 81.7% | 18.3% |
| 5th Grade | 84.3% | 15.7% |
| 6th Grade | 82.2% | 17.8% |
| 7th Grade | 79.3% | 20.7% |
| 8th Grade | 74.4% | 25.6% |
| 9th Grade | 75.1% | 24.9% |
| 10th Grade | 71.1% | 28.9% |
| 11th Grade | 68.2% | 31.8% |
| 12th Grade | 55.6% | 44.4% |
Washington treats regular attendance and chronic absence as opposite sides of the same attendance measure. The chronic absence percentages in the table are calculated as 100% minus the published regular-attendance rate. OSPI defines a student as chronically absent when the student misses 10% or more of enrolled school days.
The elementary grades are relatively close together, ranging from 79.9% to 84.3% regular attendance from kindergarten through 5th grade. The rate is 82.2% in 6th grade, 79.3% in 7th grade, and 74.4% in 8th grade. High school begins at 75.1% in 9th grade and falls to 55.6% in 12th grade. The difference between 5th and 12th grade is 28.7 percentage points.
What Washington Counts as Regular Attendance
OSPI considers a student regularly attending when the student averages fewer than two absences per month. In a typical school year, that generally means missing 17 days or fewer. A student who misses 10% or more of enrolled school days is considered chronically absent. The measure includes absences regardless of whether they are excused or unexcused. The state’s Regular Attendance measure document reports a statewide regular-attendance rate of 72.9% for 2024–25, up slightly from 72.6% in 2023–24.
10% of school days missed
Counts missed instructional time regardless of whether the absences are excused or unexcused.
Unexcused absences
A separate legal and administrative process tied to repeated unexcused absences under Washington law.
Seattle Public Schools uses the same basic chronic-absence measure on its attendance page: missing 10% of the school year for any reason. SPS describes that as about 18 days in a 180-day school year. This is different from truancy. A student can be chronically absent even when every absence is excused.
Enter school days and missed days to see whether the chronic-absence level has been reached.
Attendance Is Lower in the Later Grades
The 2024–25 Seattle data show the largest attendance gap at the end of high school. Regular attendance was 75.1% in 9th grade, 71.1% in 10th grade, 68.2% in 11th grade, and 55.6% in 12th grade. Expressed as the complementary chronic-absence share, those rates correspond to 24.9%, 28.9%, 31.8%, and 44.4%.
The dashboard describes how often students attended; it does not identify why individual students were absent. Districtwide grade-level percentages can reflect many different circumstances across schools and students. They should not be used to infer the reason for an individual student’s attendance record.
Seattle schools address attendance through school-based and district supports. The district’s Superintendent Procedure 3121SP calls for daily attendance monitoring, family contact, barrier identification, attendance or engagement teams, community resources, counseling when appropriate, and other individualized supports before judicial action is used.
Reporting and Checking an Absence in Seattle
For the 2026–27 school year, Seattle Public Schools asks families to contact the student’s school in advance for a planned absence. For an unplanned absence, the district’s current attendance letter asks families to contact the school within two school days of the student’s return.
- Report an absence: Contact the attendance office at the student’s school.
- Check the attendance record: Parents and guardians can review attendance in The Source.
- Questions about a recorded absence: Contact the school attendance office first.
- Questions about truancy or a district attendance letter: SPS lists its central Attendance Office on the district attendance page.
Seattle’s procedure also sets different attendance-taking routines by school level. Elementary teachers enter daily attendance near the start of the school day, while secondary teachers take attendance for each instructional period. This makes secondary attendance records more detailed because a student may be present for part of the day and absent from one or more classes.
When Unexcused Absences Trigger District Action
Washington law uses unexcused absences for the truancy process. Under RCW 28A.225.020, a school must notify the parent after one unexcused absence in a month and schedule a conference after three unexcused absences in a month. Between the second and seventh unexcused absence, the school must take data-informed steps aimed at reducing the absences.
Under RCW 28A.225.030, when required interventions have not substantially reduced absences, a district must file a juvenile-court petition after the seventh unexcused absence in a month and no later than the fifteenth unexcused absence in the school year for a child covered by the statute. The statute also requires the filing to document attempted interventions.
Those truancy thresholds should not be confused with chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism measures total missed school time, while the truancy process focuses on unexcused absences. A student’s official attendance status, absence classification, and any required district response depend on the school record and the rules that apply to that student.