Rural Schools Get Nearly One-Fourth of Turnaround Grants

Data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education on the $3.5 billion School Improvement Grant program show that the federal turnaround grants haven’t just gone to schools in urban areas, or for less-drastic school improvement efforts.

The school improvement program was developed under the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, to help schools that were perennially failing to meet the goals of the law, but the Obama administration has given it a complete makeover, pushing for an infusion of $3 billion for the program, and giving schools a very specific menu of four turnaround options from which to choose.

Advocates for rural schools have said that the four models, which, in some cases, require drastic actions, such as closing down a school or firing its principal, don’t offer enough leeway. They view...