Only about half the nation’s rural school districts have students enrolled in college-level Advanced Placement courses, and those students have lower AP success rates than their nonrural peers, according to a report by researchers at the University of New Hampshire.
The authors found that AP enrollment rates in rural districts lag behind the rates in suburban, town, and urban districts. More than 97 percent of urban school districts, 80 percent of districts located in towns, and about 95 percent of suburban districts have students enrolled in AP courses. The study also found discrepancies among rural school districts, with small remote districts less likely to offer AP classes than larger rural districts close to urban areas.
