West Virginia’s rural areas are among the most impoverished in the U.S. Rural household income is the lowest in the U.S., more than half of all rural students qualify for subsidized meals, and one in five families live below the federal poverty line. The state’s rural special education population is the nation’s second largest and educational attainment among rural adults is the fourth lowest. Schools and districts are among the nation’s largest, and they are burdened by the highest proportional transportation costs to instructional spending of any state. Graduation rates are above the national average, and rural scores on the National Assessment on Educational Progress are among the lowest in the U.S, ranking West Virginia 17th in the country in need of rural education attention and improvement.