The Chilean public policy has chosen to materialize the closure of rural schools arguing the low quality of its education. This decision has several consequences for the community in which the school is inserted. This situation can be address by improving the quality of education itself. For this purpose, in this study the profiles of rural schools with high academic performance were identified and characterized based on the results of the SIMCE 2011. A multivariate analysis was used including principal component analysis and the method of classification and regression trees. The results showed two profiles of successful rural schools, the main characteristics of them are related to the discipline and self-efficacy of the students. These factors are presented as milestones for the improvement programs for the education (promoted by the Ministry of Education throughout the country), as an alternative to the closure of the rural schools.