Nearly one-third of all public school students in Georgia attend rural schools--the third largest rural student population in the country, at almost half a million students. The state ranks 12th among the 50 states in need of rural education attention and improvement. Minority and English Language Learner enrollment is high in rural areas, as is the percentage of students who qualify for subsidized meals. Educational attainment among rural adults is among the nation’s lowest, and only about 55% of current students graduate from high school in four years—the second worst rate in the country. Schools and districts in rural areas are about 7.5 times larger than the national median (the fourth largest nationally), and rural scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are among the lowest in the U.S.