Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare Alabama’s rural school districts with its city, suburban, and town districts. Descriptive statistics were used for this population study, with effect sizes calculated using Cohen’s d. Findings indicated Alabama’s rural school districts serve slightly less affluent student populations, with a lower percentage of minority students, than their counterparts. They are funded at slightly lower levels than their counterparts in other categories, yet spend approximately the same percentage of their budgets on administration and on instruction. They spend a considerably higher percentage on transportation. Although rural district dropout rates are similar to those of their counterparts, from the third to the eleventh grade, student performance on standardized examinations falls gradually behind that of the students in other locale categories.
Highlights
Alabama is among the 13 states where rural education is most important to the overall educational performance of the state (Johnson & Strange, 2007, p. i), yet it is among the four states least conducive to rural educational achievement (p. ii)
Lee and McIntire (2000) concluded that rural students perform significantly better than non-rural students in some states, but significantly poorer in others
Students in the rural districts lagged behind their suburban, city, and town counterparts, respectively
Summary
Alabama is among the 13 states where rural education is most important to the overall educational performance of the state (Johnson & Strange, 2007, p. i), yet it is among the four states least conducive to rural educational achievement (p. ii). This study attempts to add to that knowledge base by investigating the levels of student achievement in Alabama’s rural schools, as compared to their town, suburban, and city counterparts. It compares the socio-economic levels of students, racial/ethnic diversity, per-pupil expenditures, revenue sources, and expenditures for instruction, administration, and transportation. Arnold (2004) identified some high priority areas for rural schools research Two of those areas – student achievement and school finance – were selected as the focus of this investigation into Alabama’s rural public schools. How do rural student achievement levels compare to those of students in Alabama’s town, suburban, and city public school districts?. The purpose of this brief review of the research on rural schools is to present the major national findings related to the variables examined, which include student achievement, transportation issues, socio-economic characteristics of rural schools, financial issues affecting rural schools, and district and school size considerations
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