Academic performance in the state’s smallest schools – where a fifth of Hoosier students are enrolled significantly lags behind larger schools, according to new research.

A report by Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research shows that students enrolled in school districts with less than 2,000 students scored lower on state-standardized exams and lack the same amount of access to high-level courses.

The study was commissioned by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and follows up on a similar one done in 2017.

The Chamber’s recently released Indiana Prosperity 2035 plan calls for a reduction “by half the number of very small school districts with enrollments below 2,000 students.”