R.I. ranks third in U.S. for rural education initiatives

THE RURAL SCHOOL and Community Trust ranked Rhode Island third in the country for rural education, but highlighted need for some reform in terms of the state's level of public funding for schools. / COURTESY RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY TRUST
THE RURAL SCHOOL and Community Trust ranked Rhode Island third in the country for rural education, but highlighted need for some reform in terms of the state's level of public funding for schools. / COURTESY RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY TRUST

WASHINGTON – In a new report released Monday by the national nonprofit Rural School and Community Trust, Rhode Island ranks as the third-highest-scoring state in the country for its rural education programs.

The biennial report, “Why Rural Matters 2013-14,” was released at the Education Writers Association national conference in Nashville on Monday and seeks to improve early education for rural students across the U.S.

The Rural School and Community Trust found that many states are failing to make the grade when it comes to providing access to high-quality early education programs for rural low-income families and children. However, New England states ranked among the best in the country, with Massachusetts claiming the No. 1 spot and Connecticut at No. 2. Maine was the only New England state that did not rank in the top 10.

Rhode Island has a nominal rural student population, with only 5 percent of students enrolled in a rural district. In the report’s ranking of the 50 states based on critical need for rural education reform, with states in the top quartile needing the most reform and states in the bottom quartile needing the least, Rhode Island placed in the bottom quartile for four out of five measurement gauges, along with Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland. No state ranked in the bottom quartile for all five gauges.

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On the fifth gauge, Educational Policy Context, the report found some need for reform in the Ocean State. Rhode Island issues the least amount of state funding for its schools, the report said, with 30 cents for every dollar, compared with the U.S. average of $1.17.

Despite low funding, fourth grade students’ performance in the National Easement Assessment Project is among the highest in the nation, while eighth graders’ performance aligns more closely with the national average. Rhode Island also has the third-highest percent of rural students on an independent education plan, at 16 percent.

To further assist students, Rhode Island participates in the federal grant program, “Race to the Top,” which has awarded more than $900 million in funding to 20 states across the nation. The grants help to prepare children with high educational needs.

The states identified in the Rural School and Community Trust report as “top-priority” states in need of reform included Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.

The Rural School and Community Trust is a national nonprofit organization that works to provide academic opportunities to rural schools in communities. To view the complete report, visit www.ruraledu.org.

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