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The purpose of this explanatory mixed method study is to compare chronic absenteeism rates and state accountability systems in two southeastern states. The theoretical framework guiding this study is Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory, which explains the multitude of factors impacting adolescent development that has been extended to the ecology of factors that impede students’ ability to attend school. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states have more autonomy to develop comprehensive accountability systems, and attendance is now a critical piece to school accountability for many states. However, little is understood about how state accountability systems compare across states and how these accountability systems may influence attendance rates. Therefore, this explanatory mixed method study utilized the Chronic Absence across the United States, 2017-18 School Year data set and the Mann Whitney U test to compare school district attendance rates across two southeastern states. Next, the researcher conducted a document analysis for the qualitative phase on the two southeastern states’ accountability systems published on the United States Department of Education’s website. This study then examined how the qualitative phase may explain the quantitative phase. The findings show that Arkansas’s chronic absenteeism rate is statistically significantly lower than Kentucky’s, possibly because of its increased student success indicators, rating system, supportive programs, and monitoring system.