BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.16, No.2, 2024, BECE 1843 

 

 

 

 

An Empirical Study of the Relation between Rural 

School Size and Student Academic Achievement in the 

Context of Rural Revitalization 

By Zeng, S., Lei, J., Su, S., & Zeng, P. 
Correspondence to: Pingfei Zeng, Zhejiang Normal University, China. E-mail: 

zpf@zjnu.cn 

HIS article is an empirical study of academic achievement of rural stu-

dents in X County, based on the analysis of how their senior secondary 

entrance examination results related to baseline performance (represented by 

terminal exam results of the first semester in grade 7) and academic progress 

(represented by student academic growth between grades 7 and 9). The rural 

schools included in the study were divided into two groups: small-size and 

medium-large-size schools. Fully investigated were the gaps in student senior 

secondary entrance examination results and academic progress among rural 

schools of distinct sizes as well as the impact of school sizes on different stu-

dent groups. Research findings include that: 

 Student baseline performance and academic progress had posi-

tive correlations with their senior secondary entrance examina-

tion results. The impact of student baseline performance was 

greater than that of academic progress. 

 Medium-large-size rural schools performed better in the senior 

secondary entrance examination than small-size ones. The for-

mer had advantages over the latter regarding teacher resources, 

reputation, and school management and thus, had better student 

sources, which explained the disparities in senior secondary en-

trance examination results between the two groups of schools. 

 Students from small-size rural schools made greater academic 

progress than their peers from medium-large-size rural schools. 

This is because they received more attention from their teachers 

despite their relatively lower baseline performance. Moreover, 

the instructional methods of their teachers were more suitable to 

their needs. 

 The overall academic progress made by high-, moderately-, and 

low-performing student groups from small-size rural schools was 

significantly greater than their counterparts from medium-large-

size schools. Comparatively, moderately- and low- performing 

T 

mailto:zpf@zjnu.cn


 

Vol.16, No.2, 2024, BECE 1844 

students from small-size schools made bigger strides than the 

high-performing group. 

The study proposes suggestions as follows: 

 In rural school evaluation, considerations should include both 

student baseline performance and academic progress. A reasona-

ble combination of formative and summative assessment will 

contribute to the betterment of the quality of rural education. 

 There should be more incentives for small-size rural schools to 

improve their teaching quality in that they are more academically 

value-added. They have the potential to be better recognized and 

accepted by students and student parents. 

 

 
Source: Journal of Shanghai Educational Research, 2023; 2023(11):29-34.