The Rural Education Achievement Program’s Effect on Student Academic Achievement and Achievement Gaps

More than one in four of America’s public schools, and nearly one in six of the nation’s students, reside in rural areas. Students in many rural places can face significant challenges that differ from those in urban settings. In response, the federal government has established the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) to allocate funding to increase student achievement through the Small Rural School Achievement (SRSA) and the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) programs. In this study, we plan to apply a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of REAP programs on students’ achievement. Specifically, using data from the Stanford Education Data Archive and leveraging eligibility information for SRSA and RLIS collected by the U.S. Department of Education, we plan, for the first time, to uncover causal empirical evidence about the impact of SRSA and RLIS on students’ achievement, as well as on racial/ethnic achievement gaps in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The purpose of this study is to not only provide a better understanding of the effect of the REAP initiative, but to also stimulate discussion around rural education and the challenges rural students face.

Dr. Brad Curs is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Missouri.

This study received the Russell Sage Foundation Research Grant.

Who is Applying to and Being Hired by Rural Schools? What Vacancy and Application Data Reveal About the Rural Teacher Labor Market

Research has investigated teacher labor markets over decades, there remains a notable gap in our understanding of staffing challenges in rural schools. Using longitudinal vacancy and application data in Wisconsin, we explore teachers’ job application and hiring patterns between rural and non-rural schools and within rural locales. Our investigation revealed that as the proximity to urban areas decreases, the applicant pool for rural positions diminishes, with applicants originating from more distant locations. Female applicants, candidates of Color, and individuals with elevated qualifications demonstrated a reduced inclination to seek employment in rural schools. Conversely, individuals with prior rural teaching experience and graduates of rural-based teacher preparation programs exhibited substantial proclivities toward both applying for and securing positions within rural educational settings. Our findings have significant implications for policymakers endeavoring to design and implement targeted programs for addressing the persistent staffing challenges confronting rural schools.

Dr. Minseok Yang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Missouri.

The impact of Four day school week on teacher recruitment and retention

Although teacher shortages are a problem across all types of schools, rural schools have faced particularly acute challenges, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Missouri’s rural school districts, the four-day school week has been implemented by some schools as a strategy to address teacher shortages and retain teachers. As of 2023, over a quarter of Missouri’s school districts have adopted this approach, with the majority being in rural areas. The four-day school week has gained popularity in other states as well, with 25 states already adopting it and more expected to follow. However, it is important to note that the effectiveness of this strategy in recruiting and retaining teachers and improving student achievement remains unclear. Further research is necessary to evaluate the impact of the four-day school week on teacher shortages and student outcomes in rural schools. Recently, the need for further research to inform policy decisions was highlighted when Missouri state Senator Doug Beck proposed the Senate Bill 4, or the ‘Parents Bill of Rights’, which aimed to mandate a return to the five-day school week for all Missouri schools. While the bill did not pass, it underscores the importance of conducting research to inform policy decisions related to the four-day school week. While some studies have examined the impact of the four-day school week on student achievement, there is currently no research that has specifically explored its effects on teacher recruitment and retention or student outcomes in Missouri. Thus, we are examining the impact of the four-day school week on teacher recruitment and retention by employing a difference-in-differences approach using longitudinal data from Missouri.

This is a collective project that involves scholars from various institutions – Drs. Cory Koedel, Tuan Nguyen, Andrew Camp, and J. Cameron Anglum

Painting the Landscape of Rural Schools: Locale, Race, and Achievement

This study examines racial achievement gaps in rural areas, their association with district characteristics, and whether these gaps vary across rural locales. Using the Stanford Education Data Archive, from the 2008–09 to 2018–19 school years, the study found that higher percentages of Black, Hispanic, and English Language Learner students correlate with wider achievement gaps, while increased percentages of students eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch and those with disabilities are associated with narrower gaps. The study also investigates the relationship between socioeconomic status and segregation with racial achievement gaps, identifying significant differences in how these factors affect White-Black and White-Hispanic disparities. Moreover, rural districts closer to urbanized areas tend to exhibit smaller achievement gaps.

This study received the American Educational Research Association  Research Grant.