School & District Management Report Roundup

School-Attendance Laws Linked To Rises in Educational Equity

By Samantha Stainburn — May 06, 2014 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

If results from previous centuries hold true, forcing students to stay in school longer could be a way to increase educational equality, according to a report published this month in the online version of the journal Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

University of Kansas researcher Emily Rauscher looked at U.S. Census data to determine the impact of compulsory-attendance laws passed in the United States between 1852 and 1918 on school attendance and educational attainment by class and race. During this period, all states introduced laws requiring students to attend school until a certain age—typically from ages 8 to 14.

Ms. Rauscher discovered that, in northern states, where the impact was greatest, the gap in school attendance shrank by 25 percent between rich and poor students and by 30 percent between white and nonwhite students. Racial gaps in educational attainment (as measured by highest grade completed) also narrowed. When there were no attendance requirements, white women completed, on average, 3.4 more grades than nonwhite women. With the laws in place, white women’s advantage fell to 2.7 grades.

A version of this article appeared in the May 07, 2014 edition of Education Week as School-Attendance Laws Linked To Rises in Educational Equity

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Opinion Why Principals Need to Talk About the Israel-Hamas War With Our Teachers
What can we do when a difficult topic is brought up by students in classrooms? First, don’t leave teachers to handle it in isolation.
S. Kambar Khoshaba
5 min read
Stylized photo illustration of a teacher feeling pressured as she is questioned by her students.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Sometimes Principals Need to Make Big Changes. Here’s How to Get Them to Stick
School leaders need their community to take a leap of faith with them. But how do they build trust and conviction?
8 min read
Image of a leader reflecting on past and future.
akindo/DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management A New Study Details Gender and Racial Disparities in the Superintendent's Office
Women and people of color are less likely than their white male counterparts to be appointed superintendent directly from a principal post.
6 min read
A conceptual image of a female being paid less than a male.
hyejin kang/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Late Arrivals, Steep Costs: Why Some Districts Ditch Third-Party Bus Companies
Districts are facing a host of transportation challenges. Some have addressed them by deciding to bring buses back in house.
6 min read
School buses parked in Helena, Mont., ahead of the beginning of the school year on Aug. 20, 2021.
Some districts are pulling back on decisions to outsource bus services in an effort to save money and improve service.
Iris Samuels/AP