This article considers the likely effects of the current educational reform movement on the future of small rural schools. After describing what the reform movement says about these institutions, it discusses the historical legacy of rural school reform and assesses the likely financial effects of the current reform movement on rural schools. (TE)

Argues that existing educational cost index proposals discriminate against rural/small school districts. Proposes an alternative index which should enable equitable treatment of these districts. (Author/JBM)

This digest reviews the promise and drawbacks of computerized learning programs and telecommunication technologies for small rural schools. A critical feature of programmed learning packages can be their stand-alone feature. To the extent that such programs do not require the presence or involvement of a trained on-site teacher, they make it…

The resource allocation practices of New York State school districts were examined to determine how certain structural features of school districts can either create high tax rates or reduce educational opportunities for students. Study results indicated that rural districts spend less on instruction than do otherwise similar districts; however,…

The persistent net loss of young people from rural areas has potentially contradictory implications for educational policy. Believing that youth migration to urban areas is inevitable, one school board might feel obligated to prepare students for urban jobs. Another board might view such actions as community suicide and attempt to slow…

This paper examines the degree to which high-school course offerings are unequally distributed across schools, paying attention to relationships between school size and the incidence of new course titles in various curriculum areas. The inquiry is based on the presumption that economies of scale play a role in educational opportunity. The study is…

While existing research on school and school district size is not as conclusive as policymakers might wish, it does point toward several new policy directions. Some relevant findings and recommendations are: (1) a larger school or district enrollment does not guarantee desirable results; (2) recommended school sizes have been declining over time,…

In examining recruitment and retention of teachers in rural areas, David Monk begins by noting the numerous possible characteristics of rural communities--small size, sparse settlement, distance from population concentrations, and an economic reliance on agricultural industries that are increasingly using seasonal and immigrant workers to minimize…

This review explores the debate on optimal school size and discusses policy options available to states for expanding curricular offerings in small rural schools. Policy options are divided into three broad categories: traditional, modified traditional, and nontraditional. The report explores the possibilities available under each approach,…

This report examines how the curricular offerings of large secondary schools compare with the curricular offerings of small secondary schools. The study is motivated by theories of production which hold that economies are available in large compared to small schools; it is pointed out, however, that larger schools may not take advantage of…

Designed to serve as an introduction to research currently being conducted on behalf of the Task Force into implications for rural schools of the Levittown decision, the primary purpose of this report is to provide background information and to provoke discussion about fiscal problems in rural areas. Two sections provide historical as well as…

This report presents attempts to understand more about how six background characteristics (small scale, population sparsity, district isolation within a BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Service), interaction between a change in enrollment and initial scale of the district, rapid changes in full value property wealth over time, and large…

This report provides an overview of a two-year study which analyzed reorganization/consolidation of small rural school districts, studied alternatives of inter-district resource sharing and new instructional technologies, and developed recommendations for changes in state laws/procedures. Researchers studied 11 small rural school districts in New…