FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENCES IN THE EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF RURAL AND URBAN YOUTH ARE EXPLORED. TOPICS DISCUSSED INCLUDE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, ENROLLMENT RATES, PATTERNS OF SCHOOL RETARDATION, FACTORS RELATED TO SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, AND RETARDATION AND FUTURE EDUCATIONAL PROSPECTS OF RURAL YOUTH. THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF REGION, AGE, SEX, COLOR, EDUCATION OF ADULTS, AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ARE EXAMINED. THE ANALYSIS IS LARGELY BASED ON 1960 CENSUS DATA AND SAMPLE SURVEYS TAKEN BY THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS IN RECENT YEARS. THE RURAL ADULT POPULATION LAGGED BEHIND THE URBAN ADULT POPULATION IN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT. MUCH OF THE DIFFERENCE CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR BY THE EDUCATIONAL SELECTIVITY OF MIGRATION AND PAST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS WHICH RESULT IN A MORE POORLY EDUCATED OLDER POPULATION IN RURAL AREAS. ENROLLMENT RATES OF RURAL YOUTHS ARE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THOSE OF URBAN YOUTHS AT THE COMPULSORY AGES AND LEVELS OF ATTENDANCE. MORE URBAN YOUTHS ARE ENROLLED IN NONCOMPULSORY KINDERGARTEN AND COLLEGE LEVELS. THE SITUATION FOR NONWHITES IS NOT AS GOOD AS FOR WHITES, IN ANY AREA THOUGH BOTH GROUPS SHOWED SOME IMPROVEMENT BETWEEN 1950 AND 1960. RURAL YOUTHS TEND TO BE MORE RETARDED IN SCHOOL THAN URBAN YOUTHS, NONWHITES TEND TO BE MORE RETARDED IN SCHOOL THAN WHITES. THE SAME FACTORS APPEAR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SCHOOL RETARDATION AS WITH SCHOOL DROPOUTS. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS ARE GOOD INDICATORS OF THE SCHOLASTIC ATTAINMENT OF YOUTH.