It's Here! Why Rural Matters 2007
The fourth report in a biennial research series from the Rural Trust is released today.
Why Rural Matters 2007: The Realities of Rural Education Growth provides essential information on the condition of rural education in each of the 50 states.
This year's report also provides perspective on state policies that help - or hinder - rural students and the schools they attend.
The report uncovered new trends and new challenges facing rural educators. Overall, enrollment in schools located in communities with fewer than 2,500 people is up by 15%. This is a reversal of a long-standing trend of in rural education.
Among rural students of color, the enrollment increases were even more dramatic, with an overall increase of 55%.
Despite these enrollment increases, Why Rural Matters 2007 also shows that many rural schools continue to face a number of challenges, including high poverty levels, low teacher salaries, uneven distribution of federal Title I funds, and low student achievement--especially in states with high challenges and weak policy supports.
The report provides state-level information on 23 data indicators. It also rates states along five gauges that measure the importance of rural education to the state's overall educational outcomes and the urgency with which policy action is needed.
Each state is featured separately with graphics showing its ranking on each indicator.
In addition, each indicator is featured showing the rankings of all 50 states and the U.S. average.
There's an interesting and informative narrative, national maps that depict rankings of the states, and tons of important information and perspective on rural schools in all the states.
You can download the entire report -- or individual state pages, indicator pages, and maps at www.ruraledu.org/whyruralmatters.