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Here’s a surprising fact: Students from America’s rural communities graduate from high school at rates higher than the national average. Fully 80 percent of them finish 12th grade, just a shade below the 81 percent who graduate from more prosperous suburban schools. Making up about 14 percent of the school-age population, rural students also score better on the National Assessment of Educational Progress than do students in cities. Making up about 14 percent of the school-age population, rural students also score better on the National Assessment of Educational Progress than do students in cities. And then something goes wrong.

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