Assessment of Students from Geographically Diverse Rural Areas: Emerging Research from Four Federally Funded Projects

Rural learners represent a diverse and significant part of the student population. Although research shows that the overall percentage and types of students with disabilities are similar in rural and nonrural school districts, greater proportions of rural students live in poverty, which places them at higher risk for disability. This article presents emerging research from four projects funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs that center on assessment and intervention practices for students in geographically diverse rural areas, including child find and developmental screening in Vermont, preparation of rural educational diagnosticians in Texas, teacher self-ratings of assessment-intervention in Wisconsin, and the use of concept-based instruction in the Pacific Northwest.