Falling Short: The Effect of Rural and Low-Income School Grant on Student Achievement and Achievement Gaps

Abstract

Rural school districts serve over 9 million students, approximately one of five students in the United States. Despite strong community support, these districts face significant challenges, including high poverty levels and difficulties with resource allocation and teacher retention. The U.S. Department of Education offers the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program, one component of the Rural Education Achievement Program, to address these issues by providing financial support to enhance academic achievement in low-income rural schools. Using data from the Stanford Education Data Archive and the U.S. Department of Education, we employ a regression discontinuity design identification strategy to assess the program’s impact. Our findings indicate that the RLIS program has had little to no effect on improving student achievement or narrowing achievement gaps. Considering these results, we discuss the roles of federal and state funding structures and emphasize that the current level of program financial support may be insufficient to produce meaningful or measurable improvements in educational equity for rural students.