Pricey homes don't mean better schools: report

By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Living in a pricey neighborhood in the United States is no guarantee that local schools will provide a better education than those in less expensive areas, according to a new report.

The research by Forbes.com and GreatSchools, an education and parenting website, debunks the notion that higher property prices equate to better schools.

The report showed that schools in some areas with median house prices above $1.1 million did not perform as well as those in neighborhoods where homes were more moderately priced in the $200,000 to $399,000 range.

"There seems to be very little relationship between the wealth of a city and the quality of its schools.' said Dan Fisher, a senior editor at Forbes media.

Falmouth, Maine, a small town 110 miles north of Boston where the median house price is $351,550, topped the list of best school districts in the United States where housing prices go furthest in providing a good education.

More upscale areas like Manhattan Beach in California and New Canaan, Connecticut lagged behind in sixth and ninth place. Towns with median house prices of $200,000 to $399,000 captured three of the top five spots.

Fisher said Falmouth's spending per student is just a few hundred dollars above the state average and less than urban school districts.

"You can't look at spending per student or the cost of the real estate as a proxy for school quality," Fischer added in an interview.

Mercer Island in Washington, Pella in Iowa, Barrington, Rhode Island and Bedford in New Hampshire rounded out the top five cities providing the best education value.

Forbes.com and Great Schools analyzed data on 17,589 towns and cities in 49 states that use standardized tests and information on schools and student performance from a federal program called Assessment for Educational Progress, which tests students in fourth, eight and 12th grades.

Towns with less than 10,000 residents or fewer than five schools, and with unemployment rates above state average, were also not included in the analysis.

Fisher conceded that the methodology favors schools in smaller towns and cities because in large cities such as New York and Los Angeles schools that do not perform well will pull down the average for the district.

So why did Falmouth's 2,100-student school district leap to the head of the class? Fisher noted that all seventh grade students in the district have laptops thanks to a state program and teacher salaries, at around $51,000 for 10-years of service, are good for the state of Maine.

Spending per pupil at $10,000 a year is less than in big cities, but also above average for the state.

Teacher turnover is also very low.

"The low turnover sticks out. They have very experienced teachers who don't move much," Fisher said.

The full report can be found at www.forbes.com/greatschools