The research reviewed in this report suggests that some of the contentions about schools, districts, and communities in rural areas are mistaken. Many of the issues they face also confront urban and suburban educators, and rural communities offer several distinctive educational advantages. A lack of student motivation to learn is a problem often…

The United States ranks first in the world among major industrialized nations in school costs and ranks nearly last in student achievement. Three massive changes in state educational policies during the last half century may account for this low educational productivity. From 1940 to 1990: (1) the number of U.S. school districts decreased 87…

The smaller the school district, the higher the achievement, when the socioeconomic status and per student expenditure are taken into account. Administrative and parental involvement should be determined by the size of the school district regardless of the socioeconomic level of the community. (BJV)

A large scale study was undertaken to shed light on the question of school district efficiency, that is, the extent to which school districts are able to increase achievement beyond what would be expected from their families socioeconomic origins. Average scores on state-developed and nationally-standardized tests of third, sixth, and ninth…

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics assessment for within-state samples of eighth graders suggest that achievement is inversely related to school and district size indexes and to state-funding share. Higher achieving states have smaller schools and districts and smaller state shares of school expenditures. (SLD)