Vermont has a high percentage of rural schools, small rural districts, and rural students (more than half of the state’s students attend rural schools), but the state nevertheless ranks 41st in the country in need of rural education attention and improvement because it has relatively few challenges to educational achievement and a generally supportive policy context. Rural Vermont is relatively affluent in comparison with most other states. Diversity among students is limited, but growing rapidly. Vermont’s rural schools and districts are reasonably sized, have high instructional spending levels, and spend less proportionally on transportation than on instruction. Graduation rates are among the highest in the nation, at almost 97%.