Despite heightened global efforts, effective solutions to rural poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa have remained evasive. In this region, endemic poverty is correlated with inadequate rural education. Sierra Leone, located on the West African Atlantic coast has witnessed persistently high rates of illiteracy and poverty. The key objective of this paper is to identify key predictors of educational outcomes to help suggest effective policies for poverty alleviation in rural Sierra Leon. An empirical analysis of the Sierra Leone ‘integrated household surveys’ 2003/04 and 2011 suggest the following predictors as significantly correlated with the level of education in rural Sierra Leone: expansion of farm acreage, adoption of improved technology, provision of credit facilities, and an equitable distribution of socio-economic services. Lessons are also drawn through a review of other countries’ experiences in the promotion of rural education. Key lessons from the review include: improved incentives for rural teachers, and the development of customized models for rural education.