As part of a larger study by Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK), the PDK chapter in southeastern Kansas examined at-risk factors and "school effort" to address such factors in its geographical area. Data were obtained from the files of 270 "typical" students in Grades 4, 7, and 10 of three rural schools and from interviews with teachers, counselors, and administrators. The 45-item PDK scale developed in 1989 and two modified scales were used to analyze the data. School effort score was based on the availability of 13 instructional strategies and services. Compared to the original PDK scale, the two modified scales placed more students in the upper 25th and upper 10th percentiles; most of this difference was in the fourth grade. Many frequently occurring at-risk factors can not be altered by the school, the most frequent being mother's and father's occupation, family structure, and change of residence in the past year. The most frequently occurring alterable factors were participation in extracurricular activities and self-esteem (estimated by teacher). At-risk items related to the traditional school varied across grade levels; four that placed the student in the extremely high-risk category were number of classes failed, average grade in previous semester, parental attitudes toward education, and change of schools in the past year. The strongest correlations between "at-riskness" and school effort were found in the seventh grade for all students and in the tenth grade for the upper decile. (SV)