2012 Rural Schools Study

November 2012 Reaching for Educational Equity: An Evaluation of Utah’s Rural Schools Complete Study This report was written by Research Analyst Shawn Teigen with assistance from Utah Foundation President Stephen Hershey Kroes, Research Director Morgan Lyon Cotti, and research interns Sarah Wald and Michael Merrill. Abstract: The purpose of this evaluation is to investigate the differences in inputs and outputs between rural and non-rural public education in Utah. In an effort to determine educational equity, Utah Foundation performed three surveys and utilized numerous secondary sources to analyze a wide range of metrics. In some measures of basic proficiency, including core subject test scores and graduation rates, rural schools are outperforming non-rural schools. However, by nature of their small size and the resulting financial constraints, rural schools have difficulty providing the course offerings and facilities of non-rural schools, which in turn may be holding back rural students from attaining higher levels of education. Financial support for this project was provided by the Utah Rural Schools Association. Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Utah Schools and Districts Overview ............................................................................................. 4 Rural Utah ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Demographics ................................................................................................................................. 8 School Finance .............................................................................................................................. 14 Effort ............................................................................................................................................. 29 Equity ............................................................................................................................................ 36 High School Senior Survey ........................................................................................................... 38 Principal Survey ............................................................................................................................ 60 Superintendent Survey .................................................................................................................. 79 Educational Inputs ........................................................................................................................ 89 Educational Outputs .................................................................................................................... 112 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 120 Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... 122 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 123 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... 127 Introduction In 2012, the Utah Rural Schools Association (URSA) contracted with Utah Foundation to update a rural schools evaluation performed for URSA by the Western Institute for Research and Evaluation (WIRE) in 1998. The Utah Foundation evaluation expanded upon the original evaluation to include surveys/ questionnaires, a state demographic overview, a description of school finance, the concepts of effort and equity, and a review of educational inputs and outputs. The evaluation provides comparisons between rural, town, suburban, and city schools and districts utilizing survey responses as well as data from state and national informational sources. It also considers differences between schools which receive Necessarily Existent Small School (NESS) funding and those which do not. Utah’s rural schools face significant educational challenges. They have greater difficulties than non-rural schools in hiring teachers, finding teachers with needed specialties, and finding teachers who teach multiple subjects. Rural schools also come up short in offering the wide array of courses that non-rural schools offer. Yet when we look at rural educational outcomes, we see paradoxes. In the core subjects that the state tests on an annual basis, rural students tend to perform better than non-rural students. Rural students also graduate at a higher rate, though in the past several years this difference has been diminishing. On the other hand, rural students have lower college entrance exam scores and are less likely to enter college. Rural school principals and superintendents tend to believe that smaller school and classroom environments provide more personal student attention, thus bolstering graduation and core-subject learning. Some of the data that Utah Foundation analyzed in this evaluation justifies these opinions. While rural students are thriving in the basics and are not dropping out of school, they are not being offered the educational breadth or the depth of advanced courses that non-rural students are, which may be suppressing college enrollment rates. The process of providing additional funds to rural schools and districts to compensate for their small scale seems to be providing a level of funding that is sufficient and equitable in meeting the basic education of rural students. However, rural principals and superintendents believe that these sources of funding are at risk. Further, they feel that financial constraints are preventing rural students from reaching excellence. By nature of their small size and the resultant financial constraints, rural schools have difficulty providing the course offerings and facilities that rural principals want – that non-rural principals have – which in turn may be holding students back from attaining higher levels of education. Purpose of this Evaluation Utah Foundation is providing this evaluation for use by URSA, the Utah State Office of Education (USOE), and other stakeholders. The contents herein provide a portrait of rural education in the state. In doing so, this evaluation puts data to the common perceptions of rural education, such as rural schools’ advantages of smaller class sizes and lower drop-out rates, and their disadvantages of course offerings and transportation costs. In addition, this evaluation provides significant details on other facets of rural education such as funding trends, test scores, educator experience, and post-secondary enrollment. Reaching for Educational Equity: An Evaluation of Utah’s Rural Schools Utah Foundation, November 2012 1 Study Objectives Utah Code details that “the Legislature acknowledges that education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments, recognizing that the future success of our state and nation depend[s] in large part upon the existence of a responsible and educated citizenry.”1 This evaluation explores whether the state is providing the same quality of education in rural counties such as Sevier or Sanpete as in non-rural counties such as Washington or Weber. It also examines whether rural children are going to be able to play as large of a part in the future success of our state and nation as non-rural children. When answering these questions, Utah Foundation examines education from kindergarten all the way into the early years of post-secondary education and training. However, the evaluation’s primary focus is on high school since that is where rural and non-rural differences tend to be most definable in terms of data from students and the USOE. Limitations of this Evaluation If education is a Gordian Knot (which legend has that Alexander the Great cut when he could not untie it), this evaluation does not attempt to completely disentangle or slice through the knot. Instead it attempts to unravel the major strands that are related to rural education. Utah Foundation has been guided through this process by many of the state’s educational experts, but does not purport to have illuminated every angle on every topic. Furthermore, as this evaluation is a portrait of rural education, it is not prescriptive in providing a detail of what actions rural and non-rural schools and districts “should” take. Instead, it examines policies currently in place in an attempt to be informative as to whether and how these policies are affecting rural students differently than non-rural students. Data and Methodology This evaluation utilized the most recent data available at the time of the study. Most of the data are from the 2010-2011 school year as provided by USOE and other sources. Just prior to the time of the release of this evaluation, USOE was beginning to release data from the 2011-2012 school year. However, so as not to delay the release of this evaluation, Utah Foundation determined to remain as consistent as possible by using the uniformly available 2010-2011 information. Utah Foundation performed three surveys as part of its research: a high school senior survey, a principal survey and a superintendent survey. Of the 39,717 high school seniors in Utah, 1,434 participated in the survey, for a 3.6% participation rate. Of the 116

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