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Rural student achievement provides one important barometer for monitoring national progress in public education. Rural education often has been discussed as a deficit model of instruction from which relatively low outcomes can be expected (Edington & Koehler, 1987). While this perspective has been reinforced by some local studies, it is not supported by national data (Fan & Chen, 1999; Lee & McIntire, 1999; Stern, 1994). At the same time, aggregate national data conceal that the achievement of rural students varies significantly from state to state (Lee & McIntire, 2001). This Digest reviews research on the status of rural student achievement and schooling conditions and describes their variations across the nation and the states. It examines (1) national trends and interstate variations in rural student achievement, (2) rural schooling conditions affecting achievement, (3) interstate variations in rural school conditions, and (4) the challenge of determining "what works" in rural schooling.
Despite these aggregate national trends, Lee and McIntire (2001) found substantial variations among states in rural students' mathematics achievement and in the achievement gap between rural and nonrural students. First, some rural states performed at the top, while others performed below the national average. Second, among the 35 states that participated in the NAEP 1992 and 1996 8th-grade math assessments, 14 states had significant achievement gaps between rural and nonrural students. Interestingly, rural students performed better than nonrural students in 7 of these states and worse in the other 7.
The study also found interstate variations in rural students' mathematics achievement gain over the 1992-96 period (Lee & McIntire, 2001). While both nonrural and rural students made significant progress in 4 states, rural students made significant progress in 8 states. Rural students did not make significant progress in the remaining 23 states participating in the 1992 and 1996 NAEP 8th-grade mathematics assessments.
On the other hand, research on small schools (which included a large majority of rural schools) revealed that small school size can mitigate the influence of poverty (Howley, Strange, & Bickel, 2000). The resource limitations rural schools often experience can be compensated for by the supportive ethos found in smaller communities and their generally smaller schools (Stern, 1994). Many rural schools feature low student-teacher ratios, individualized instruction and attention, cooperative learning opportunities, close relationships and ties to the community, and strong staff commitment (DeYoung, 1987; McREL, 1990). According to the Schools and Staffing Survey, rural schools tend to be a better place for learning than their urban or suburban counterparts in terms of teacher and student absenteeism, safe learning environment, student misbehavior, and alcohol and drug use (Stern, 1994).
There also has been an effort to compare findings across states using research conducted in individual states. The best example of this effort was the synthesis of research on the effects of district/school size and poverty in seven states (Alaska, California, Georgia, Ohio, Montana, Texas, and West Virginia). The synthesis found that the effects of size on excellence (as measured by the level of average achievement) varied substantially by state while the effects of size on equity (as measured by the relationship between achievement and SES) were highly consistent from state to state (Howley et al., 2000). This kind of cross-state comparison has implications for state policies. State policy agendas for improving the outcomes of rural education should assess the unique schooling conditions and their effects on student achievement.
During the past two decades, state legislatures have issued numerous mandates directed toward improving the quality of public education. Rural and small school districts with low fiscal capacity have often found these requirements difficult to meet (Hughes, 2000). In some cases, through extraordinary local effort, full compliance with state mandates has been met. In other cases, reform legislation has resulted in consolidation and reorganization of rural schools and school districts (Stern, 1994). The perennial challenge faced by rural schools is to provide cost-effective and high-quality schooling experiences as standards and expectations are raised for all students.
However, there is lack of consensus about what works for improving rural student achievement--a situation complicated by the variance in rural schooling conditions and in definitions of "rural." Also noteworthy is the finding that in some states rural students scored higher than their nonrural counterparts and in others they scored lower. The variability of achievement can take place within states as well as between states, and these differences are often the result of factors other than policy. Comparison of rural and nonrural education is challenged by the variations in definitions of rural. The Census Bureau definitions do not take into consideration the type of employment in the area and the degree of isolation (see Khattri, Riley, & Kane, 1997, for different definitions of "rural"). In need of further examination is the issue of how different definitions of "rural" change the status of rural student achievement. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether rural students' academic growth will continue to outpace that of their nonrural counterparts.
2. Results from the 2000 NAEP mathematics assessment were not available at the time this Digest was prepared.
3. The state profiles of rural and nonrural student achievement and schooling conditions are available online at http://www.ume.maine.edu/naep.
DeYoung, A. J. (1987). The status of American rural educational research: An integrated review and commentary. Review of Educational Research, 57, 123-48.
Edington, E. D., & Koehler, L. (1987). Rural student achievement: Elements for consideration (ERIC Digest). Las Cruces, NM: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 289 658)
Fan, X., & Chen, M. J. (1999). Academic achievement of rural school students: A multi-year comparison with their peers in suburban and urban schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 15(1), 31-46.
Howley, C., Strange, M., & Bickel, R. (2000). Research about school size and school performance in impoverished communities (ERIC Digest). Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 488 968)
Hughes, M. F. (2000). Financing facilities in rural school districts: Variations among the states and the case of Arkansas. In S. E. Dewees & P. C. Hammer (Eds.), Improving rural school facilities: Design, construction, finance, and public support (pp. 21-39 ). Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 445 857)
Khattri, N., Riley, K. W., & Kane, M. B. (1997). Students at risk in poor, rural areas: A review of the research. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 13(2), 79-100.
Lee, J.,& McIntire, W. G. (1999, April). Understanding rural student achievement: Identifying instructional and organizational differences between rural and nonrural schools. Paper presented at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Montreal, Canada. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 430 755)
Lee, J.,& McIntire, W. (2001). Interstate variation in the mathematics achievement of rural and nonrural students. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 16(3), 168-81.
McCombs, B. L., & Bansberg, B. (1997). Meeting student diversity needs in poor, rural schools: Ideal practices and political realities. In M. C. Wang & K. K. Wong (Eds.), Implementing school reform: Practice and policy imperatives (pp. 162-91). Philadelphia: Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education.
Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory, Rural Institute. (1990). Rural schools and education reform: They may be closer than you think. The Rural Report. Aurora, CO: Author. National Center for Education Statistics. (1991). Trends in academic progress. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). NAEP 1996 mathematics: State report card. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Stern, J.D. (ed.). (1994). The condition of education in rural schools. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 371 935)
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Dr. Jaekyung Lee is Assistant Professor at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Maine. He specializes in educational policy research and evaluation. E-mail [email protected] for correspondence about this Digest.
This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0027. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI, the Department, or AEL.
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