This study examined how COVID-19 impacted elementary schools' reading achievement in rural school districts in South Carolina. The study employed the comparative research design to investigate differences between reading achievement before and after COVID-19 of rural elementary schools regarding gender and racial ethnicity. The methodology of this research study utilized data obtained from the website of the South Carolina Department of Education. The Archival Data consisted of selected rural elementary schools. This research included 155 rural elementary schools in 30 school districts from 18 different counties. In this study, research was presented through the literature review. A review of school closures, elementary student reading achievement and gender and race achievement gaps was conducted to examine the disparity in elementary school reading achievement before and after COVID-19 school closures. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact COVID-19 school closures had on elementary schools' reading achievement in rural school districts in South Carolina. According to the South Carolina State Department of Education's Read to Succeed Act, student starting at grade three must show proficiency in the area of reading (South Carolina Department of Education, 2020). Therefore, this comparative study examined the impact of the COVID-19 school closures on reading achievement of elementary students in grades three through five by gender and racial makeup in rural schools in South Carolina as measured by the South Carolina Readiness Assessment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]