Nationally, rural students in grade 8 outperformed their nonrural counterparts on the mathematics section of the 1996 National Assessment of Education Progress. Fourteen states had significant rural-urban differences in mathematics achievement, but seven favored rural students and seven favored nonrural students. This pattern was related to six…

Examines rural educational reforms in a small, isolated, economically disadvantaged Ohio school; an advantaged Michigan school; and an Iowa elementary school with a growing Hispanic population. Common elements contributing to reform success: supportive school culture, attention to change principles, research-based strategies, local adaptations,…

Examines the effects of a state standards-based reform--the Maine Learning Results--on curriculum and instruction in four small rural schools, focusing particularly on the impact on locally responsive curricula in the schools. Suggests that state standards and place-based curriculum may not be as incompatible as previously suggested. (Author/SV)

Compares standards-based reforms with rural school improvement efforts that emphasize locally responsive, place-based curricula. Concludes that while the two movements differ in philosophical orientation, they share the goals of increasing equity in schools, making curricula and pedagogy intellectually rigorous, and creating content and…

Examples from 10 Appalachian rural schools demonstrate how developing curricula around local interests builds on students' prior experience and makes education relevant, and how educational experiences that are intimately connected to one's community develop a sense of civic responsibility. Information technology enables students to see the myriad…

The use of "recitation" lessons in a rural Nebraska one-room school was investigated. Conservative in its orientation toward knowledge and student learning, the recitation is a functional response to the context of smallness, implicit parental and community expectations, inevitable student transfer to a large graded school, and threats to…

A study of 45,206 high school seniors investigated their participation and performance in mathematics subjects taken to complete the secondary education qualification in Victoria, Australia. Gender differences varied with the particular assessment administered. There was a significant regional effect where rural students, particularly males,…

Energy Express is a summer reading and nutrition program for disadvantaged young children in 80 rural West Virginia communities. College student/AmeriCorps mentors support childrens' literacy by creating a print-rich environment, using a place-based curriculum, and providing activities, including a community service project. Two case studies…

An elementary teacher education program was established in southeastern British Columbia (Canada) to meet staffing needs in six rural school districts by establishing a pool of teachers likely to remain in the area. A 5-year study of the first cohort of 22 teachers found that 20 held teaching jobs and 17 were still living in the area. (TD)

A research agenda was developed to examine effects of rural school busing on rural children, families, and communities. The agenda addresses the history, politics, and financing of rural school busing; social, cultural, health, and safety considerations; geographic justice and school distribution; relationship to consolidation; influences on…

Describes how local, within-school factors at two rural elementary schools located in different parts of Kentucky influenced efforts to achieve the mandated goals of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). Discusses the tension created by imposing generic reform measures on very different rural places. An appendix presents KERA goals.…

Haas criticizes Kannapel et al for conducting their "rural" research with school professionals and asks what it would take for rural schools to engage their communities and what, besides geography, makes a school rural. Kannapel et al claim that community concerns are not limited to rural schools and that advocates of systemic reform and rural…

Census data from 1940 to 1990 are used to analyze the relationship between educational achievement and economic progress. Results are inconsistent with the policy assumption that investing in education leads to economic increases, particularly for rural and low-income states. Noneconomic goals, such as fostering community development, should be…

Achievement in reading, math, science, and social studies was examined among rural, suburban, and urban school students using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Controlling for socioeconomic status and using nationally representative samples of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, rural student achievement equalled or exceeded…

A study of seven high- and low-achieving elementary schools in West Virginia surveyed 1,389 parents, students, principals, teachers, and staff. Among two matched pairs of rural schools, high-achieving schools shared characteristics very different from those of low-achieving schools with equivalent poverty rates. Overall, school programs and…