In 2006, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a new classification system to make the reporting of locale data consistent across its various surveys and to be more precise in its classification of rural areas. This report brings together data from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Census surveys and applies the new classification system to create a series of indicators on the status of education in rural America. The data used in these indicators are drawn from the most recent versions of NCES's Common Core of Data (CCD), Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES), the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), and Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). Additional information on the methodology and the datasets used in this report can be found in appendix B. More detailed information on the new NCES urban-centric locale classification system can be found in the section, "Measuring Rural Education." The report's focus is on elementary and secondary schools, although a few indicators look at postsecondary enrollment and adult education and attainment to provide a context for student expectations and opportunities. This report does not examine trends. Among the numerous findings in this report: (1) In 2003-04, over half of all operating school districts and one-third of all public schools were in rural areas--yet only one-fifth of all public school students were enrolled in rural schools; (2) A larger percentage of rural public school students in the 4th- and 8th-grades in 2005 scored at or above the Proficient level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading, mathematics, and science assessments than did public school students in cities at these grade levels--However, smaller percentages of rural public school students than suburban public school students scored at or above the Proficient level in readingand mathematics; and (3) Rural public schools tended to receive a smaller percentage of their revenues in 2003-04 from federal sources (9 percent) than city public schools (11 percent), but a larger percentage than suburban public schools (6 percent). (Contains 55 tables and 50 figures.)
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