State education data released Friday showed that chronic absenteeism improved 1.1% statewide, but several Lake County urban districts are still struggling to keep students in school.

The state overall chronic absenteeism rate is 16.7%, officials said in a release. Officials said it marked three straight years of improvement.

The state defines chronic absenteeism as missing at least 10% of school days or about three and a half weeks.

In Lake County, seven districts fell below the state rate of 16.7%, with the Gary Community School Corp. faring the worst with a 63.6% chronic rate.

Attendance plays a key role in Indiana’s new A-F accountability grading system set to take effect next year.

The proposed grading system focuses on attendance at four checkpoints — grade 3, grades 4-8, grade 1

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