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Research Article
Open Access

The Geography of Rural Educational Opportunity

Jessica Drescher, Anne Podolsky, Sean F. Reardon, Gabrielle Torrance
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences May 2022, 8 (3) 123-149; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2022.8.3.05
Jessica Drescher
aPhD candidates in education policy at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, United States
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Anne Podolsky
aPhD candidates in education policy at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, United States
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Sean F. Reardon
bEndowed Professor of Poverty and Inequality in Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, United States
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Gabrielle Torrance
cAnalyst at the University of Chicago Center for RISC, United States
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  • Figure 1.
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    Figure 1.

    Rural Student Enrollment per Grade, by Classification, Grades Three Through Eight, 2009–2018.

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on the Common Core of Data (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/).

    Note: Figures based on the sum of student enrollment within each classification type.

  • Figure 2.
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    Figure 2.

    Third-Grade Average Achievement and Community Socioeconomic Status

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on SEDA v4.0 (Reardon et al. 2021).

    Note: Thirty-three districts with achievement greater than 1.25/less than –1.25 or SES greater than 3/less than –3 omitted to improve visual display.

  • Figure 3.
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    Figure 3.

    Learning Rates and Community Socioeconomic Status

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on SEDA v4.0 (Reardon et al. 2021).

    Note: Forty-one districts with a learning rate greater than 0.2/less than –0.2 or SES greater than 3/less than –3 omitted to improve visual display

  • Figure 4.
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    Figure 4.

    Average Achievement and Community Classifications Among Rural Districts

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on SEDA v4.0 (Reardon et al. 2021).

    Note: New England is the reference category for divisions, rural fringe for rural urban locales, and farming for economic subtypes.

  • Figure 5.
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    Figure 5.

    Average Learning Rate and Community Classifications Among Rural Districts

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on SEDA v4.0 (Reardon et al. 2021).

    Note: New England is the reference category for divisions, rural fringe for rural urban locales, and farming for economic subtypes.

  • Figure 6.
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    Figure 6.

    Educational Achievement Across Rural U.S. Districts

    Source: Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University (https://www.edopportunity.org).

  • Figure 7.
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    Figure 7.

    Average Annual Learning Rates Across Rural U.S. Districts

    Source: Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University (https://www.edopportunity.org).

  • Figure 8.
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    Figure 8.

    Third-Grade Average Achievement and Average Annual Learning Rates

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on SEDA v4.0 (Reardon et al. 2021).

    Note: Thirty-four districts with a learning rate greater than 0.2/less than –0.2 or achievement greater than 1.25/less than –1.25 omitted to improve visual display.

  • Figure A.1.
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    Figure A.1.

    Third-Grade Achievement to Learning Rate Gradient by District Enrollment, All Districts

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on SEDA v4.0 (Reardon et al. 2021).

    a96 percent of these districts are rural (n = 1,626) and 4 percent are nonrural (n = 71).

    b91 percent of these districts are rural (n = 1,625) and 9 percent are nonrural (n = 170).

    c69 percent of these districts are rural (n = 1,627) and 31 percent are nonrural (n = 740).

    d25 percent of these districts are rural (n = 1,625) and 75 percent are nonrural (n = 4,803).

  • Figure A.2.
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    Figure A.2.

    Achievement/Learning Rate Gradient by District SES, Rural & Nonrural Districts

    Source: Authors’ calculations based on SEDA v4.0 (Reardon et al. 2021)

    a47 percent of very poor districts are rural.

    b59 percent of poor districts are rural.

    c63 percent of middle class districts are rural.

    d40 percent of upper class districts are rural.

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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 8 (3)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 8, Issue 3
1 May 2022
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The Geography of Rural Educational Opportunity
Jessica Drescher, Anne Podolsky, Sean F. Reardon, Gabrielle Torrance
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences May 2022, 8 (3) 123-149; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2022.8.3.05

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The Geography of Rural Educational Opportunity
Jessica Drescher, Anne Podolsky, Sean F. Reardon, Gabrielle Torrance
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences May 2022, 8 (3) 123-149; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2022.8.3.05
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
    • EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES
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Keywords

  • rural
  • opportunity
  • inequality
  • education

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