Forty-six percent of Iowa’s schools are in rural areas, but because the state’s rural schools, on average, face fewer socioeconomic barriers to student achievement than other states, the state ranks 35th in the nation in need of rural education attention and improvement. Cultural diversity among the student population is low, but among the nation’s most rapidly increasing. The state has relatively small rural schools and districts, but they operate with low expenditures on both instruction and instructional staff salaries. More than 96% of Iowa’s rural students graduate in four years--among the highest rates in the nation, and well above the national rate of 76%.