Examined were the educational conditions and efficiency of the school systems during the 1929-30 school year in both the mountainous and nonmountainous counties of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Information was obtained for five counties in each State which were regarded as the most mountainous and five counties in the nonmountainous area of each State, for all of the counties of each State commonly regarded as part of the Southern Appalachian area, and for each State as a whole. A comparison of conditions among area types indicated the extent to which mountain conditions affected educational developments. Obtained from published reports and files of the six State departments of education and directly from the schools, data covered the schools' availability and accessibility; grade levels; length of school term and days attended; illiteracy; pupils' age-grade status; teacher qualifications; annual expenditures; value of buildings, grounds, and school equipment; estimated taxable wealth available for school support; State aid; human resources as a factor in school support; types of nonpublic schools and their curricular offerings; and nonschool educational activities. Findings included: of the children 16-20 years old in the mountain sections, approximately 2/3 did not attend school; in at least 3 of the States, the disadvantage of short terms in the most mountainous counties was aggravated by irregular attendance; and enrollment ratios in the first year of high school to those in the third grade were higher in the nonmountain counties. (NQ)