Key Takeaways:
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Nearly one in four students were chronically absent in 2023–24, reflecting deeper issues of health, access, and engagement. Reconnecting students requires understanding their challenges and using data to provide timely, personalized support.
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When educational systems like SIS, LMS, and digital learning tools can securely share data through open standards (e.g., OneRoster®, Ed-Fi, Caliper Analytics®, CASE®, LTI Advantage®), educators gain a holistic view of student attendance, engagement, and progress, enabling faster, more compassionate interventions.
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Districts, states, and EdTech providers must work together to adopt and implement interoperability standards. Efforts like the Ed-Fi OneRoster API show how connected data can reduce redundancy, improve accuracy, and ultimately strengthen relationships between schools and students.
A Crisis of Disconnection
Across the nation, educators are confronting one of the most urgent and troubling challenges of our time: chronic absenteeism. Since the pandemic, the number of students missing significant portions of the school year has risen dramatically. According to a report in The 74, nearly a quarter (23%) of students were chronically absent during the 2023-24 school year.
But this isn’t just a crisis of attendance; it’s a crisis of connection. Each absence represents a student who may be struggling with health, transportation, disengagement, or simply a sense of isolation. The challenge is determining which students are impacted by which struggle and finding the best way to support them.
It’s a challenge that has a solution. We live in an age rich with educational data, too often, it remains trapped in silos, disconnected from the educators and families who could use it to help students re-engage. Adopting interoperability standards with your edtech tools can help break down those silos, and get educators the actionable data they need to support students and get them back in the classrooms where they belong.
From Fragmentation to Connection: The Power of Interoperability
It all starts with our most foundational systems. When attendance data in a Student Information System (SIS) can’t connect with learning activity in a Learning Management System (LMS) or content engagement from digital resources, districts lose the visibility they need to respond quickly and compassionately.
This is where interoperability standards, the digital “languages” that allow systems to share data securely and consistently, play a critical role. 1EdTech has long developed open, consensus-based standards that help learning ecosystems work together.
Key interoperability standards include:
OneRoster® – Lays the foundation by securely sharing core student data, such as enrollment, roster, and attendance information, that helps identify who learners are and how consistently they engage in their education.
Ed-Fi Data Standard - Organizes and manages a wide variety of educational data, and delivers that data in a standardized format, creating actionable data for reporting, program assessment, and individualized student support.
Caliper Analytics® – Captures real-time engagement data from learning platforms, showing what students are doing, how often they participate, and where they may need additional support.
CASE® (Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange) – Connects these engagement insights to learning standards and competencies, allowing educators to see not only how students are learning, but what they’re learning and where they may be struggling.
LTI Advantage® – Ties everything together by ensuring these tools and systems communicate seamlessly, creating a unified ecosystem where data flows securely and meaningfully across platforms.
Together, these standards transform fragmented data into a comprehensive, dynamic portrait of the learner, one that reflects attendance, engagement, achievement, and progress aligned to standards. This holistic view empowers educators and institutions to make more informed decisions, personalize instruction, and provide timely interventions that help every learner thrive.
The Role of EdTech Providers
For this vision to become reality, EdTech companies must take the next step: implementing these standards directly in their products. When vendors adopt interoperability, they empower schools and states to access accurate data, build early warning systems, and share insights securely.
Educational institutions can also prioritize interoperability standards in their procurement process to ensure their edtech tools can provide the data they need, and more easily be integrated into their current and future systems.
A Collaborative Breakthrough: The Ed-Fi OneRoster API
One of the most promising developments in this space is the Ed-Fi OneRoster API, a collaboration between the 1EdTech Consortium and the Ed-Fi Alliance. This API bridges two of the most widely adopted K–12 data standards, allowing systems that use the Ed-Fi Data Standard and OneRoster to exchange data about attendance, enrollment, and performance seamlessly.
For districts and states, this means reduced duplication of data entry, clearer patterns of absenteeism, and improved data quality and interoperability at scale.
From Data to Human Connection
The goal is not to collect more data for its own sake but to humanize learning through insight. When teachers and counselors have access to timely, holistic information about a student, they can act quickly and compassionately.
A Call to Reconnect
To turn the tide on chronic absenteeism, we need collective action:
- Districts and states must demand interoperable solutions that align with 1EdTech standards.
- Edtech providers must implement these standards to ensure meaningful data flow.
- Educators and communities must use connected data to rebuild trust, belonging, and purpose among students.
When systems speak the same language, our schools can finally speak with one voice that says, "We see you. We care. And we’re here to help you succeed."
About the Author
Dr. Tim Clark is Vice President of K-12 Programs for the 1EdTech Consortium. A former teacher, district leader, and EdTech collaborator, Dr. Clark is passionate about connected learning, digital equity, and empowering educators through interoperability and innovation.
