Mississippi KIDS Count. This report is based on the 2015 report by Mississippi KIDS COUNT that analyzed state and district-level data. Counting the Future expands on the 2015 results by using student-level data to investigate the effects of chronic absence on student outcomes. The analysis finds that chronic absence rates start high in kindergarten, decrease through elementary school years, and increase again in middle and high school. During the 2013/14 school year, 14% of kindergartners, 15% of 8th graders, and 36% of 12th graders were chronically absent.