The percentages of adults needing adult basic education (ABE) programs in rural areas may not differ from those found in metropolitan areas, but the delivery of the system may be different. For example, the rural ABE teaching staff probably will be recruited from the ranks of the regular elementary or high school teachers to teach at night also, so may experience a higher turnover rate because of fatigue. Also, the rural ABE teacher may have to take sole responsibility for the program, recruiting as well as organizing and conducting the program, since the ABE director may be miles away. Students in rural ABE programs are often known to the teacher, which is an advantage in terms of tailoring the program to individual needs; but at the same time, persons who could make use of the program may refuse to attend because the community would then find out about his/her lack of basic skills which has previously been hidden by the individual's coping mechanisms. The rural ABE program may also be at a disadvantage because its location and teachers may have negative associations for potential participants, while urban ABE students can pick from several locations without previous negative associations. In general, the differences between rural and urban ABE programs arise from the different situations in which they are conducted, while their objectives and proficiency assessment are similar or identical. (KC)