We used longitudinal staffing data from Pennsylvania to explore differences in special education personnel attrition across personnel categories, individual characteristics, and district characteristics. Special education administrators and school psychologists had the highest attrition rates among special education personnel, with special…

Dropping out of high school seriously impacts an individual's job opportunities, income potential and employment stability. To minimize those risks, individuals can earn a General Educational Development (GED) credential. Researchers have studied the impact of obtaining a GED on candidates' lives and found that the credential affects their…

The purpose of this study was to examine the college enrollment and persistence rates of rural high schools in Pennsylvania; the types of postsecondary institutions in which students from such schools enroll; and the student, school, and college characteristics associated with enrollment and persistence outcomes. The study used extant data from…

Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the nation, and more than 50 percent of this population is female. Overall, Pennsylvania's rural women are doing well in education, family life stability, and health, relative to comparison groups of rural men and urban women and men. Educational attainment is greater among urban women and men, but…

During February-March 1991, 1,518 randomly selected Pennsylvania adults with listed telephone numbers were surveyed on political, educational, and health issues. With regard to education, respondents: (1) strongly favored limiting class size to 15 students in grades K-3, and funding public education through the state income tax (not local taxes);…

This report represents a county-level Pennsylvania data base focused on variables of significance to rural communities. The data includes computations of per capita rates for counties in rural, urban influence, and urban clusters. This report is intended for comparing rural counties to other areas of the state. Three categories are used to present…

Graphs, data tables, maps, and written descriptions give a statistical overview of rural Pennsylvania. A section on rural demographics covers population changes, racial and ethnic makeup, age cohorts, and families and income. Pennsylvania's rural population, the nation's largest, has increased more than its urban population since 1950, with the…

A telephone survey of a random sample of over 1,650 Pennsylvania citizens solicited opinions on proposals for improvements in the areas of: (1) welfare reform; (2) smoking reduction; (3) unintended pregnancies and unwanted births; (4) education reform; (5) children's health and safety; and (6) workmen's compensation. Each section of this report…

The sixth annual survey conducted by the Rural Services Institute examined the opinions of Pennsylvania residents on crime control, welfare reform, smoking, and education reform proposals. Sixty percent of respondents believed that the most urgent issue facing Pennsylvania was violent crime and strongly supported measures to reduce the…

This report presents numerical data for 1990-92 on demographic, social, and educational variables, comparing rural and urban areas of Pennsylvania. Two types of comparisons are provided: (1) rural, urban influence, and urban groupings, based on population density typology (people per square mile and size of the largest community in the county);…

This report provides demographic, statistical, and other indicator data related to rural education in the Mid-Atlantic region of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The data are intended to aid state rural assistance councils in developing plans to improve rural schools. One obstacle to consistent policy implementation is the…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Pennsylvanias children. The statistical portrait is based on trends in 19 indicators of child well being: (1) early prenatal care; (2) low birth weight; (3) infant mortality; (4) child deaths; (5) child violent deaths; (6) births to single mothers under age 20; (7) mothers with…