Tom Swiderski
@tswid.bsky.social
Researcher at the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) at UNC studying how to improve high school to college & career transitions. Current work: COVID recovery, absenteeism, CTE/career skills, & teacher prep. Web: tswiderski.web.unc.edu
Recently I shared a new pub from me & colleagues on student absenteeism. To accompany this, we've also produced a one-pager to share key takeaways in brief!
Article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
One-pager: epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
@sarahcfuller.bsky.social @kevincbastian.bsky.social
Article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
One-pager: epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
@sarahcfuller.bsky.social @kevincbastian.bsky.social
October 21, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Recently I shared a new pub from me & colleagues on student absenteeism. To accompany this, we've also produced a one-pager to share key takeaways in brief!
Article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
One-pager: epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
@sarahcfuller.bsky.social @kevincbastian.bsky.social
Article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
One-pager: epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
@sarahcfuller.bsky.social @kevincbastian.bsky.social
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
We are so excited to be able to offer a limited number of subsidies to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as school district personnel, to present at NCARE 2026 thanks to our generous sponsors. Proposals are due November 7th: ncafrie.wildapricot.org/conference-i...
Conference Call for Proposals
ncafrie.wildapricot.org
September 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
We are so excited to be able to offer a limited number of subsidies to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as school district personnel, to present at NCARE 2026 thanks to our generous sponsors. Proposals are due November 7th: ncafrie.wildapricot.org/conference-i...
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
NEW from me and Amie Rapaport at @futureedgu.bsky.social: New Parent Research Helps Explain Causes of Post-Pandemic Absenteeism Crisis // www.future-ed.org/new-parent-r...
New Parent Research Helps Explain Causes of Post-Pandemic Absenteeism Crisis
Though chronic absenteeism has declined from its post-COVID peak, too many students are still missing too much school. Research shows that absent students fall behind academically and are more likely…
www.future-ed.org
September 23, 2025 at 4:35 PM
NEW from me and Amie Rapaport at @futureedgu.bsky.social: New Parent Research Helps Explain Causes of Post-Pandemic Absenteeism Crisis // www.future-ed.org/new-parent-r...
New paper! Using data from NC, we estimate that getting attendance rates back to pre-pandemic levels in 2023-24 could have improved state math achievement by 0.017-0.025 SDs in this year, or 13-19% of what would be needed for a full academic recovery. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
September 22, 2025 at 1:28 PM
New paper! Using data from NC, we estimate that getting attendance rates back to pre-pandemic levels in 2023-24 could have improved state math achievement by 0.017-0.025 SDs in this year, or 13-19% of what would be needed for a full academic recovery. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
Here’s a new perspective piece at EdNC focused on full time principal internships in NC. Good news is that the state has decided to fund them for the 2025-26 year! But the issue—questions about the importance of the internship and funding for it—will still be there. www.ednc.org/perspective-...
Perspective | Maintaining North Carolina’s excellence in principal preparation
Without a state budget, future principals in North Carolina face a limited internship opportunity — three months instead of 10.
www.ednc.org
September 17, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Here’s a new perspective piece at EdNC focused on full time principal internships in NC. Good news is that the state has decided to fund them for the 2025-26 year! But the issue—questions about the importance of the internship and funding for it—will still be there. www.ednc.org/perspective-...
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
📢 Job Posting! 📢 We are hiring TWO postdocs at Detroit PEER at Wayne State (detroitpeer.org)! We are looking for one quant/mixed methods expert and one qual/mixed expert to work with me & @jeremylsinger.bsky.social on attendance research. Apply by Oct. 10, but flexible on start date! Please share!
Detroit PEER Postdoc Job Description 2025.pdf
drive.google.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:19 PM
📢 Job Posting! 📢 We are hiring TWO postdocs at Detroit PEER at Wayne State (detroitpeer.org)! We are looking for one quant/mixed methods expert and one qual/mixed expert to work with me & @jeremylsinger.bsky.social on attendance research. Apply by Oct. 10, but flexible on start date! Please share!
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
NEW: We conducted a survey of all school leaders in Michigan in 2024-25 about their attendance strategies. Our report offers the most comprehensive evidence thus far of what schools are actively doing to reduce chronic absenteeism. @sarahlenhoff.bsky.social
detroitpeer.org/wp-content/u...
detroitpeer.org/wp-content/u...
August 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
NEW: We conducted a survey of all school leaders in Michigan in 2024-25 about their attendance strategies. Our report offers the most comprehensive evidence thus far of what schools are actively doing to reduce chronic absenteeism. @sarahlenhoff.bsky.social
detroitpeer.org/wp-content/u...
detroitpeer.org/wp-content/u...
My study on ACT/SAT test requirements has been issued at EEPA! Using time-varying DID, I found that requiring 11th graders to take the ACT or SAT had small to null effects on postsec outcomes, with some variation btw effects on students vs states' institutions. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...
August 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
My study on ACT/SAT test requirements has been issued at EEPA! Using time-varying DID, I found that requiring 11th graders to take the ACT or SAT had small to null effects on postsec outcomes, with some variation btw effects on students vs states' institutions. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
🚨Attention Job Seekers: We're hiring a quantitative researcher for a 1-year (possibly renewable for 2nd yr) position to study Career & Technical education! While not technically a postdoc, this would be a great fit for a recent PhD graduate! 🧵 careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...
Research Area Specialist Associate | U-M Careers
careers.umich.edu
May 30, 2025 at 8:13 PM
🚨Attention Job Seekers: We're hiring a quantitative researcher for a 1-year (possibly renewable for 2nd yr) position to study Career & Technical education! While not technically a postdoc, this would be a great fit for a recent PhD graduate! 🧵 careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...
New pub (open-access)! School absence rates have been above pre-pandemic levels for multiple years. We show how this is adding up for students over time, revealing that some students are experiencing especially deep and persistent levels of absenteeism. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
February 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM
New pub (open-access)! School absence rates have been above pre-pandemic levels for multiple years. We show how this is adding up for students over time, revealing that some students are experiencing especially deep and persistent levels of absenteeism. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
New results from "The Nation's Report Card" just dropped and they are pretty bad. I got a sneak peek as a member of IES’s Standing Committee, so I had an extra day or so to ruminate about them. A few thoughts 👇
1/n
1/n
January 29, 2025 at 5:38 AM
New results from "The Nation's Report Card" just dropped and they are pretty bad. I got a sneak peek as a member of IES’s Standing Committee, so I had an extra day or so to ruminate about them. A few thoughts 👇
1/n
1/n
Out today! I wrote an op-ed for EdNC reflecting on learning recovery. I suggest that the multiple other challenges schools face (attendance, mental health, teacher burn-out) undercut recovery efforts, & offer some ideas about what that means we should do moving forward. www.ednc.org/learning-los...
Perspective | Learning loss is still with us. Where do we go from here?
OPTION 1: "When students are experiencing depression, anxiety, burn-out, and chronic absenteeism, they will not learn as much. When educators are burnt out and spending more time on behavioral managem...
www.ednc.org
January 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Out today! I wrote an op-ed for EdNC reflecting on learning recovery. I suggest that the multiple other challenges schools face (attendance, mental health, teacher burn-out) undercut recovery efforts, & offer some ideas about what that means we should do moving forward. www.ednc.org/learning-los...
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
Come join my data team! We are hiring another Strategic Research Fellow! (Or two)
It’s a great opportunity for an early career researcher with an interest in higher ed policy.
Priority deadline is Feb 7, more details below.
northcarolina.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
It’s a great opportunity for an early career researcher with an interest in higher ed policy.
Priority deadline is Feb 7, more details below.
northcarolina.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Strategic Research Fellow
The University of North Carolina System Office is accepting applications for the position of Strategic Research
Fellow. The primary goal of the posit...
northcarolina.csod.com
January 22, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Come join my data team! We are hiring another Strategic Research Fellow! (Or two)
It’s a great opportunity for an early career researcher with an interest in higher ed policy.
Priority deadline is Feb 7, more details below.
northcarolina.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
It’s a great opportunity for an early career researcher with an interest in higher ed policy.
Priority deadline is Feb 7, more details below.
northcarolina.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
Excited to release, with coauthors Camille Mikkelsen and @sarahcfuller.bsky.social, a new research brief on NC’s support personnel workforce (counselors, social workers, school psychologists) through the pandemic epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
A few key findings:
A few key findings:
epic.unc.edu
January 10, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Excited to release, with coauthors Camille Mikkelsen and @sarahcfuller.bsky.social, a new research brief on NC’s support personnel workforce (counselors, social workers, school psychologists) through the pandemic epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
A few key findings:
A few key findings:
Interesting participatory research on attendance that centers student voice! "The solutions students relayed were holistic in scope and emerged directly from their expressed needs, emphasizing structural pathways, school improvement, and social-emotional support" journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
January 10, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Interesting participatory research on attendance that centers student voice! "The solutions students relayed were holistic in scope and emerged directly from their expressed needs, emphasizing structural pathways, school improvement, and social-emotional support" journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
Last year was a big year for me. I hear there's some merit in reflection and sharing successes, so here's a thread highlighting some, and thanking those who enabled those successes.
An especially big thanks to my co-authors and committee members @gzamarro.bsky.social and @jbmcgee.bsky.social.
An especially big thanks to my co-authors and committee members @gzamarro.bsky.social and @jbmcgee.bsky.social.
January 3, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Last year was a big year for me. I hear there's some merit in reflection and sharing successes, so here's a thread highlighting some, and thanking those who enabled those successes.
An especially big thanks to my co-authors and committee members @gzamarro.bsky.social and @jbmcgee.bsky.social.
An especially big thanks to my co-authors and committee members @gzamarro.bsky.social and @jbmcgee.bsky.social.
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
Receiving this email just made my day. ❤️ Always great to hear that your research is being used to inform policy and practice 😊
January 3, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Receiving this email just made my day. ❤️ Always great to hear that your research is being used to inform policy and practice 😊
To close 2024, I want to celebrate some of my work from this past year that I’m most proud of - and encourage others to do the same!!
#1 Exploring student absence patterns over 3 post-COVID yrs, revealing variation in the persistence & depth of absence problems: www.brookings.edu/articles/stu...
#1 Exploring student absence patterns over 3 post-COVID yrs, revealing variation in the persistence & depth of absence problems: www.brookings.edu/articles/stu...
Student-level attendance patterns show depth, breadth, and persistence of post-pandemic absenteeism
Education experts compare three years of post-pandemic attendance patterns with three years of pre-pandemic attendance patterns.
www.brookings.edu
January 3, 2025 at 7:33 PM
To close 2024, I want to celebrate some of my work from this past year that I’m most proud of - and encourage others to do the same!!
#1 Exploring student absence patterns over 3 post-COVID yrs, revealing variation in the persistence & depth of absence problems: www.brookings.edu/articles/stu...
#1 Exploring student absence patterns over 3 post-COVID yrs, revealing variation in the persistence & depth of absence problems: www.brookings.edu/articles/stu...
NEW pub! We show changes in means & distributions of several "non-test" outcomes from pre-COVID to '22. Results show how different outcomes have had different post-COVID trajectories. Grades recovered quickly, but absenteeism got worse from 21 to 22. For each, changes were larger at the tails.
I'm very happy to share this new article co-authored with @tswid.bsky.social, @kevincbastian.bsky.social, and Camille Mikkelsen. It was a long road to have this published. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
December 16, 2024 at 9:28 PM
NEW pub! We show changes in means & distributions of several "non-test" outcomes from pre-COVID to '22. Results show how different outcomes have had different post-COVID trajectories. Grades recovered quickly, but absenteeism got worse from 21 to 22. For each, changes were larger at the tails.
We're getting more evidence that absence rates remained high, again, last school year. And this is occurring even though (I think) school leaders are very aware of this problem and have been trying to get attendance rates back up already.
I have a new brief out with Detroit PEER, providing an overview of how attendance in Michigan has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic: detroitpeer.org/wp-content/u...
November 23, 2024 at 2:58 PM
We're getting more evidence that absence rates remained high, again, last school year. And this is occurring even though (I think) school leaders are very aware of this problem and have been trying to get attendance rates back up already.
I’ve done a decent amount of work around course taking, but this highlights just how different the same course can be across different classrooms and contexts. Definitely something I’ll try to keep in mind more. Also would love to be able to know how Covid impacted things like this!
One reason why so few 8th graders in the poorest schools are ready to take algebra: too much class time spent reviewing old stuff and disciplining students. Two more reasons in my story: hechingerreport.org/proof-points...
November 20, 2024 at 10:23 PM
I’ve done a decent amount of work around course taking, but this highlights just how different the same course can be across different classrooms and contexts. Definitely something I’ll try to keep in mind more. Also would love to be able to know how Covid impacted things like this!
I'm starting to gear up for APPAM 2024 later this week! On Thursday morning, I'll be presenting on this new working paper of ours that looks at the relationship between post-pandemic absenteeism and achievement. Looking forward to seeing folks there!
New WP! How might post-COVID test scores change if absence rates returned to pre-COVID levels? We estimate achievement would improve some, but not enough for full academic recovery. Absences may also be having less of a negative impact on scores post-COVID vs pre. edworkingpapers.com/ai24-951
The relationship between student attendance and achievement, pre- and post-COVID
We examine the relationship between absenteeism and achievement since the onset of COVID-19. Applying first-differences models to North Carolina administrative data, we estimate that each absence was ...
edworkingpapers.com
November 19, 2024 at 1:47 PM
I'm starting to gear up for APPAM 2024 later this week! On Thursday morning, I'll be presenting on this new working paper of ours that looks at the relationship between post-pandemic absenteeism and achievement. Looking forward to seeing folks there!
Reposted by Tom Swiderski
New (and early) work from EPIC on paid teacher residency programs in TX epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u.... Much thanks to coauthors @sarahcfuller.bsky.social and Andrew Otte. Several key findings stand out:
epic.unc.edu
November 18, 2024 at 1:02 PM
New (and early) work from EPIC on paid teacher residency programs in TX epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u.... Much thanks to coauthors @sarahcfuller.bsky.social and Andrew Otte. Several key findings stand out:
New WP! How might post-COVID test scores change if absence rates returned to pre-COVID levels? We estimate achievement would improve some, but not enough for full academic recovery. Absences may also be having less of a negative impact on scores post-COVID vs pre. edworkingpapers.com/ai24-951
The relationship between student attendance and achievement, pre- and post-COVID
We examine the relationship between absenteeism and achievement since the onset of COVID-19. Applying first-differences models to North Carolina administrative data, we estimate that each absence was ...
edworkingpapers.com
November 12, 2024 at 8:34 PM
New WP! How might post-COVID test scores change if absence rates returned to pre-COVID levels? We estimate achievement would improve some, but not enough for full academic recovery. Absences may also be having less of a negative impact on scores post-COVID vs pre. edworkingpapers.com/ai24-951