"Snapshot '97," the 10th edition of this publication, provides information about students, student performance, staffing, and the financing of Texas public school districts. This annual summary is a useful source of information for anyone interested in the demographics of Texas schools, the resources available, and the improvements that…

This report presents results from Phase 2 of an ongoing Utah State Office of Education project titled "Preliminary Study of Proficiency Based Credit Testing in Utah Public Schools." Proficiency-based credit assessment (PBCA) means awarding secondary school academic credit to students considered proficient in the area without having taken…

Northwest Guilford High School, Guilford County (North Carolina), is an essentially rural, largely white school that serves about 1,200 students from all socioeconomic levels. An evaluation was conducted of a heterogeneous grouping project involving students in a 2-year sequence of algebra for those who scored below the 40th percentile on a…

Law-related education (LRE) has been shown to produce positive changes in student attitudes toward school, parents, the police, and deviant behavior. Project NEXUS, a rural Appalachian program designed to address dropout prevention and predelinquent factors, was implemented in Ellijay (Georgia) Middle School. A group of 25 students, chosen because…

Rural schools can help solve their special education problems by using advanced technology to provide instructional support (computer managed instruction, satellite television, library searches, resource networks, on-line testing), instructional applications (computer assisted instruction, reading machines, mobile vans, instructional television),…

A review of partial results of a survey of 265 rural schools in the North Central Association's 9 westernmost states revealed interesting trends in the characteristics of rural school personnel. Among the 192 teachers, 43 principals, and 46 school board members responding to the survey, women held fewer leadership positions than men, who held 91%…

Comparisons between 35 small/rural K-12 Kansas school districts (900 students or fewer) and 642 similar districts nationwide use data gathered during 1982-83. Qualifying Kansas districts (208, enrolling 95,466 students) were identified, to be compared to 4,125 qualifying districts nationwide. A questionnaire mailed to superintendents of 36…

A 1982-83 survey produced data used to compare 17 small/rural K-12 New Mexico school districts (900 students or fewer) with 642 similar districts nationwide. Of New Mexico's 88 school districts, 43 were identified as qualifying (48.9%, enrolling 16,648 students), for comparison to 4,125 similar districts nationwide. A questionnaire mailed to…

A paper by the American Council on Rural Special Education formally requests that the National Commission on Excellence in Education recognize the differences between rural and non-rural schools and provide appropriately different strategies for implementing Commission recommendations. Factors of rural schools which should be considered by…

A questionnaire survey of rural school teachers (225) and principals (40) attempted to identify skills and characteristics which teachers need to be successful in rural schools; interviews of 32 teachers in 13 rural schools and of 27 rural school trustees were also conducted. Recent literature on training of teachers for rural schools was…

This resource book on rural administrative leadership is the result of 1988 interviews with school administrators involved in successful rural educational programs. The material is divided into eight chapters, each self-contained for separate use. Chapter 1, "Getting to Know the Community," addresses qualities of living and working in…

Of 238 small K-12 rural public school districts (enrollments under 900) identified in the Arkansas study, 40 were chosen for use in gathering information to assist educators in understanding and improving education of rural residents. An 80% response rate to the 123-item questionnaire mailed to superintendents provided information on district…

A questionnaire was developed in order to discover the aspects of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975) that prove both most and least problematic for rural special education cooperatives. A cooperative was defined as any interdistrict administrative arrangement that provides specific services to member school…

This paper studies the needs and strengths of rural schools with the intent of improving rural science education. It examines the history of rural schools, and posits a rural-to-urban continuum of characteristics, citing studies that indicate rural schools are more effective in some ways than urban schools. The paper looks at needs of rural/small…

Demographic changes between 1970 and 1980 will affect New York rural schools in the 1980's. In the 1970's overall New York state population declined nearly 4% (about 700,000 persons), but rural areas gained about 100,000. Rural New York school districts now serve a population of about 2.5 million, a 5% increase since 1970. During the 1980's,…