In fact, the gap in educational attainment between rural and nonrural students has continued to widen, mainly because greater numbers of nonrural students are attending college. This gap places rural students at a clear disadvantage since most of the jobs that undergird the rural economy now resemble jobs in metropolitan areas. As informative about the effectiveness of rural schools as these summary indicators are, they need to be viewed with the following caveat. Summary indicators, by definition, mask large regional differences. One does not need to wander too far out into the countryside to see that rural schools are as different among themselves as they are from urban schools.
Rural schools have their strengths, too.
Their small size, close community ties, and attention to individual student needs all can support efforts to meet high standards. The question is, how do we capitalize on the strengths of rural schools and communities to achieve these goals while minimizing their inherent disadvantages. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer and copyright information.