PISA survey finds widespread truancy among Danish 15-year-olds

More than one in four Danish 15-year-olds skipped a full day of school in the previous two weeks, according to the latest PISA survey, DR reports. The figures come as the assessment shows Danish pupils performing worse than ever in mathematics, reading and science.

The survey also asked students about their school attendance. A total of 28 percent said they had skipped a full school day, while 30 percent had missed one or more lessons. Six in ten said they had arrived late to school during the same two-week period.

The proportion of students reporting truancy has risen markedly since 2012, when the question was first included in the PISA survey.

The figures have surprised parents in central Svendborg. Kim Skov Holm, a service technician and father of children who attended primary school, said the number was high.

“I think that is a high figure,” he said when asked whether his own children could have skipped school. “I would not rule it out. But I think that we as parents have tried to help them.”

Doctor Lone Lund Thomsen said parents bear the primary responsibility for ensuring that their children attend school and do not have high levels of absence.

“They should know if their children do not attend and have such a high level of absence,” she said. She added that schools should also address the issue.

Students at Brøndbyvester School said they recognised the problem. Ninth-grade student Wilma Kaaber Bossen said many pupils in her class skipped school, then fell behind with their homework and received lower grades.

Her classmate Elias Kerim Kaya also believed truancy harmed academic performance. He said some students lacked patience, making it difficult for them to solve difficult mathematics problems or read challenging tests.

Education Minister Magnus Heunicke said the figures were concerning and reflected a broader loss of authority and respect for teachers.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that a culture of truancy does not develop,” he said.

Andreas Rasch-Christensen, research director at VIA University College and a member of the steering group for Denmark’s PISA consortium, called the level of truancy alarming.

He said students and their parents should have serious discussions about what it means to attend school, adding that it was unacceptable for pupils to simply disengage from school in this way.