A growing body of evidence points to the size of schools as a significant determining factor in academic achievement. Large schools are often far less successful at educating students than small schools. This paper shall first examine the data which support this claim and the reasons why small schools might work better. Finally, our conclusions…

The proceedings consist of the entire major addresses of Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum, Steve Miller, and Walter Turner, and abbreviated versions of 29 other papers or presentations. The materials deal with a variety of rural-focused topics: women (Evelyn Hausmann); teacher career ladder plans (Paul Burden); inservice (Robert Norton, Myron…

A total of 144 teachers from rural and urban schools in North Dakota responded to open-ended questions related to students' behavior problems. Differences between students from rural and urban schools are described in the areas of serious behavior problems, handling behavior problems, and eliminating behavior problems. (Author/NEC)

This paper describes the field experience of 30 undergraduate students in a teacher education program at the University of North Dakota. As part of an introductory teaching and learning course, teacher education students prepared for and taught elementary students in a small, rural school for one-day. The school enrolled 80 children in…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) A State of the States Roundup: State Governors Address High School Reform and College Preparation; and (2) "Big…

Ten rural school improvement clusters involving 63 districts, 7 colleges and universities, and 6 state departments of education have been developed in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota through the work of the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory's Rural Education Project. Four essential steps appear necessary for…

Technological delivery systems currently available or in use are examined for adaptability by rural schools, especially high schools faced with increasing demands to expand curriculum. This report focuses on the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory's (McREL's) service area of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South…

A detailed status report of education in North Dakota, with particular emphasis on an assessment of the public expenditure for elementary and secondary education, is contained in this document. This report contains facts based upon 2 years of study and careful fact finding. The statewide study is more than a quest for facts; it is a systematic and…

The time period and the pioneer conditions that existed when north central and northwestern North Dakota were settled determined the type of rural schools that were established there. Those areas were settled between 1885 and 1910. Most of the settlers in that area of the state were of Scandinavian (particularly Norwegian) extraction. The vast…

The number of public high school districts in North Dakota declined from 256 to 186 during 1970-94; 22 school districts were eliminated in the last 5 years of that period. A survey was conducted in eight communities (four pairs) that had gone through school district consolidation and school closing during 1991-94. Community populations in 1994…

The document presents organizational details of the 18-month Country School Legacy Project (June 1980-December 1981) to begin an on-going inquiry into the history of rural education and current public policies which affect country schools and which will result in greater public use of library facilities and historical collections in public,…

The study compared nationwide research findings about the districts, superintendents, teachers, programs, and student performance in 642 public school districts with an enrollment of 900 or less (defined as small/rural) to data from a random sample of school districts of similar size in North Dakota. Data were collected from superintendents by…

Country schools were important in the growth and development of North Dakota. While most of the early schools were constructed of wood, some were constructed of stone, sod, or logs. Standardization was established by 1915, and the white framed one-room school was duplicated in every township of the state until the end of World War II. A former…

In 1989, in response to declining enrollments and the smallest average school size in the nation, North Dakota legislation provided incentive payments to consortia of four or more school districts that voluntarily collaborated in program planning and implementation. Participating districts were required to vote on a reorganization proposal after 3…

Any conclusions that community education concepts are "alive and well" were not supported in a study of the impact of state education policies on rural school districts with total enrollments of 350 students or less in the Great Plains Region (Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota). Survey…