Data gathered during 1982-83 are used to compare 41 small/rural K-12 Iowa school districts (900 students or fewer) to 642 similar districts nationwide. In Iowa, 307 qualifying districts (70.7% of all public school districts), enrolling 154,130 students, were identified; 4,125 districts nationwide qualified. A questionnaire mailed to superintendents of 45 randomly-selected Iowa districts and 816 randomly-selected districts nationwide yielded respective return rates of 91.1% and 78.7%. A 3-page table compares data from the Iowa and national surveys in sections on the district, superintendent, teachers, student performance, and school programs. For example, superintendents are compared in terms of average age (Iowa: 47.4, national: 47.1); percent holding master's as highest degree (31.7%, 55.4%); percent holding education specialist degree (56.1%, 31.5%); percent holding doctorate (12.2%, 13.1%); average tenure as superintendent, in years (7.5, 8.5); percent reporting annual salary in excess of $35,000 (43.9%, 37.4%); percent of full-time superintendents (61%, 75.8%); percent of superintendent/principal combinations (36.6%, 20.9%); and percent who worked for the district prior to appointment as superintendent (18.1%, 29.4%). (MH)