Considerable attention has been given to organizational effectiveness of public sector organizations at all levels: local, state, and federal. Public education has not escaped scrutiny. Current examinations of the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of education are more intense than that of other public sector organizations. The organizational…

To determine whether reform initiatives should be adopted by rural schools, the standards of equity and quality should be applied. Specific criteria for implementing the standards can be derived from the problems and strengths of rural schools, in terms of input, process, and outcome indicators. (SK)

Establishes a rationale for increasing use of interorganizational arrangements among small, rural school districts. Compares two basic forms of interorganizational relations: cooperation and coordination. Identifies several core propositions to guide policy planners and decision-makers when designing cooperative agreements. Includes 34 references.…

Historically, policies and funding guidelines for most federal educational programs have not adequately recognized the diverse nature of rural schools. A dichotomy of rural and urban, or, even a tripartite classification (urban, suburban, and rural) would mask the internal diversity of rural schools. Current efforts to understand the condition of…

Offers a five-step design for assessing organizational effectiveness in small rural school districts: (1) consideration of major policy and technical issues; (2) defining the district's organizational components; (3) agreeing on measures of quality; (4) translating measures of quality into operational standards; and (5) assessing standards'…

Historically, policies and funding guidelines for most federal educational programs have not adequately recognized the diversity of rural schools. A dichotomy of rural and urban, or even a tripartite classification (urban, suburban, and rural), would mask the internal diversity of rural schools. Current efforts to understand the condition of…

Five articles about education service agencies (ESAs) serving rural schools yield five insights. Many rural systems owe their existence to ESA support. ESAs provide critical technology support. States should encourage school district collaboration. Inclusion of postsecondary institutional representatives in ESAs is an important step towards a…

Identifies nine major state educational strategies with specially targeted rural assistance goals. Categorizes the strategies according to their primary intent and state policy instruments used in implementation. Suggests that this classification will further the assessment of the equity, adequacy, responsiveness, and appropriateness of the…

To develop a list of research priorities for rural education, members of the Rural Education Association's (REA) Research Committee and Executive Board were asked to rank order nine thematic research categories. The ranking process resulted in the following list (starting with the highest priority): (1) rural school effectiveness; (2) staff…

Great changes are occurring in the vast and extremely diverse nonmetropolitan regions of the United States as a result of economic and social shifts taking place. These are not the only issues facing state and local education policy and planning communities. Nationwide focus on the school reform and school excellence movement poses another serious…

Sums up the current status of rural education research, offers explanations for the present situation, and argues for two essential steps in developing a rural research and development agenda: adoption of overarching research paradigms to guide future inquiry and consensus concerning the substantive issues to be studied. (JHZ)

Thanks to the economies of scale inherent in networks of education services agencies (ESAs), these agencies can provide small rural schools with access to programs, services, and technical assistance that otherwise might be unavailable. Typical core services of ESAs, historic roots, evaluation of ESAs in Iowa and Texas, and trends in ESA funding…

The rural school superintendency is, in many ways, as demanding and difficult as the urban superintendency. Chapter 1 of this book provides a working definition of a rural small school district, an estimation of the number of rural systems in the nation that fit the criteria, and a profile of rural small school superintendents. Chapter 2 discusses…

Profiles educational outcomes produced by rural schools, based on four indicators (student achievement scores, student participation rates, measures of student behaviors and attitudes, and measures of postschool outcomes) likely to be stressed in the unfolding public education performance debate. Although NAEP assessments compare favorably with…

Until the quantity, quality, and utility for policy development of research literature on rural education is improved, the potential for furthering the current national momentum of interest in rural education cannot be realized. Explanations for the limited research literature include a lack of appreciation for differences between rural and urban…