This brief was developed using Microsoft Copilot and edited by Charlotte Sutcliffe, Duke undergraduate research assistant; for full text and references see
MacSuga-Gage, A. S., Kaplan, R., Batton, B., Ellis, K., & Gage, N. A. (2022). Outcomes in rural and urban settings for students with disabilities. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705221087678
Background:
This study addresses a critical gap in educational research by examining how academic achievement and disciplinary outcomes differ for students with disabilities (SWD) in rural versus urban schools. Drawing on 11 years of longitudinal data from North Carolina, the researchers analyzed over 1.3 million observations from more than 366,000 SWD. The study focused on reading and mathematics performance, as well as in-school (ISS) and out-of-school suspensions (OSS), while controlling for student and school-level variables such as race, gender, school type, and enrollment. The analysis also explored differences across disability categories to better understand how location interacts with specific student needs.
Findings:
The study found nuanced differences in outcomes based on school locale. SWD in rural schools had slightly lower reading scores than their urban peers, though the effect size was minimal. No significant differences were found in mathematics performance overall. However, when separated by disability category, rural students with emotional disturbance (ED), other health impairments (OHI), and speech-language impairments (SLI) performed worse in reading than their urban counterparts. Conversely, rural students with autism showed slightly better performance in both reading and math.
Disciplinary outcomes revealed a contrasting pattern: rural SWD were less likely to receive ISS but more likely to receive OSS. The odds of OSS were particularly high for rural students with autism and severe intellectual disabilities. These trends suggest that rural schools may lack the resources or personnel to implement less exclusionary disciplinary practices. Additionally, Black and Hispanic SWD were more likely than White SWD to receive suspensions, regardless of location, highlighting persistent racial disparities.
Takeaways:
This research underscores that while overall academic differences between rural and urban SWD are modest, meaningful disparities emerge when examining specific disabilities and disciplinary practices. Rural schools may face unique challenges, including limited staffing and resources, which can affect both instructional quality and behavioral interventions. Policymakers should consider targeted support for rural schools, especially in enhancing reading instruction and developing alternatives to OSS. Furthermore, the findings call for deeper investigation into how disability type and school context interact to shape student outcomes, with the goal of ensuring equitable education for all SWD across geographic settings.