A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
Education in Rural America
America's farming economy long ago gave way to economic diversity in rural
areas. But this diversity has often brought a concentration of low-paying jobs. As a result, there are
significant levels of poverty, with its associated problems affecting communities, families, and schools.
Rural students make up 17 percent of the nation's elementary and secondary public school-age children,
but they attend 28 percent of the country's schools. They are found in all parts of the country and in
every state often---in large numbers.
A recent OERI report, The Condition of Education in Rural Schools, gives an overview of education
in rural America today to assist policymakers and practitioners by providing concise, current
information. It documents the number and location of rural students and schools, describes the unique
relationship between the rural school and the community, profiles programs that serve rural students,
contrasts rural and nonrural teachers and principals, discusses education reform in rural schools, and
presents the outcomes of rural schooling.
For instance,
- Rural teachers make up about a quarter of the teachers in the country. However, they
tend to be younger, have less experience, have lower levels of education, and receive smaller salaries
than their nonrural counterparts.
- Students in nonmetropolitan counties have fewer opportunities to continue their
education. As a result, fewer dropouts return to complete high school, and fewer graduates aspire to
go on to higher education. Those who do, however, persist and perform as well as nonrural graduates.
- Recent national tests have revealed that rural student performance has risen on selected
national assessments so that it now approximates the national mean. Performance is below that of
suburban students but higher than that of urban students.
The report not only provides statistics about rural education, it also suggests where it is going. Copies
of The Condition of Education in Rural Schools are available from GPO (stock #065-000-00653-7,
$10).
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Assistant Secretary's Column