The impetus for more school closures lies in declining school enrollments in many rural areas and promises of cost efficiency, more academic options for students, and higher test scores. The latter benefits remain a matter of debate. Busing is controversial result of school consolidation, both in terms of expense and time. Rural school advocates…

Nearly every state is engaged in standards-based reform, as seen by the development of statewide academic goals and guidelines in core subjects and the subsequent new state tests that will measure students' progress toward achieving these goals. A Study Group on Statewide Assessment Systems formed by the National Association of State Boards of…