To the Editor:

“Pandemic Effect: Absence From Schools Is Soaring” (front page, March 30) highlights the persistent challenge of chronic absenteeism in U.S. schools. If pandemic-related “cultural shifts” are among the factors keeping students away from school, bringing them back may require us to rethink the culture of education itself.

Despite the efforts of many visionary educators, too many schools still offer a deskbound, test- and compliance-driven experience that leaves students…