Small Town, Big Talent: Identifying and Supporting Academically Promising Students in Rural Areas

This is particularly evident in America’s rural communities — where students are more likely to graduate from high school, but less likely to go to college than their counterparts in the nation’s cities and suburbs. This disconnect between K-12 achievement and postsecondary achievement further disadvantages communities that are already struggling to attract industry and talent. It also is a complex situation — with rural students more likely than non rural ones to have some postsecondary education but no degree. In this new report, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation draws on its experience supporting students in rural communities, along with lessons from others doing on-the-ground work, to both draw attention to this challenge and highlight promising approaches to addressing it.