Rigor, Relevance and Relationships Improve Achievement in Rural Schools

By Gene Bottoms, Alice Presson and Lingling Han

This report compares student achievement at 12 high-achieving rural high schools in the Southern region with 12 low-achieving schools with similar demographics. All are members of the HSTW network and have high percentages of minority students or students from low-income backgrounds. The report examines the successful school and classroom practices at the high-achieving schools that enabled their students to score at higher levels on state tests. The primary finding: The high-achieving schools had higher-level implementation of the HSTW school improvement design than the low-achieving schools.


(05V18); 80 pages; 2005; $7.50 each; $5 each for multiples of five or more

Goal that it reflects: All recent high school graduates have solid academic preparation and are ready for postsecondary education and a career.

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