Documenting Geographic Isolation of Schools and Examining the Implications for Education Policy

Geographic isolation of K-12 schools represents a unique challenge to schools with implications for school funding, staffing, resource acquisition, consolidation, transportation, and school choice among others. To date, little research has documented the extent of geographic isolation at a national scale or how it varies across school contexts. Using the Common Core of Data and the Private School Universe Survey, this study estimates the extent of geographic isolation nationally and explores how such isolation varies across contexts. Estimates are calculated and compared using as the crow flies distance, road travel distance, and travel time. Results indicate that geographic isolation of schools is relatively high within district, particularly in rural areas. Although inclusion of schools in nearby districts greatly reduces isolation, many local markets of schools remain small. Results further show that geographic isolation varies greatly across states and across student demographics. Implications for policy are discussed.