Answer:
7438.
Explanation:
Let x be the attendance before the drop.
We have been attendance dropped 16% this year, to 6248. We are asked to find the attendance before the drop.
The attendance after drop would be 84% (100%-16%) of x.
![(84)/(100)\cdot x=6248](https://img.qammunity.org/2020/formulas/mathematics/college/fn590qriri78uzmc1hym09fdmbhjswxoyu.png)
![0.84x=6248](https://img.qammunity.org/2020/formulas/mathematics/college/p2x2hqtyp3hkohse88se0zhwfsfsehl29j.png)
![(0.84x)/(0.84)=(6248)/(0.84)](https://img.qammunity.org/2020/formulas/mathematics/college/yi5ejdj4e9dfap8ld62np5yaf8isugwgrw.png)
![x=7438.095](https://img.qammunity.org/2020/formulas/mathematics/college/eayh8z4otzfd3c2um4g85ho70zkf4uhqug.png)
Therefore, the attendance before the drop is 7438.