Area School Ratings an Important Factor in Home Search

Area school ratings are one of the most important factors in choosing a new neighborhood. School ratings can affect home values, quality of living and, of course, children. Even home buyers without school-age children should be researching education in their new neighborhoods.

Educational quality varies significantly between districts and states, and even within districts. Buyers should consider class sizes, additional programs for non-traditional students and state funding in addition to basic standardized test scores in their education research.

William Bainbridge, president of Schoolmatch.com analyzed home values in two Pittsburgh neighborhoods in 2004. The area with a school rating of 99 based on standardized test scores saw a 99 percent increase in home values between 1994 and 2004. Another neighborhood with a school rating of 10 saw only a 26 percent increase in home values in the same period.

An equally important factor for parents is the educational style. Most states have charter schools or other options outside of the traditional neighborhood school model. Parents know which programs and styles best suit their children and can choose a home near a school with that style of curriculum.

There are two good ways to research education and find reliable area school ratings: online and in person.

Researching education online

Most state education departments have Web sites listing detailed information for each school in the state. It may be the first stop for many home buyers, but it may not be the best source. The information can be hard to find or interpret. State education portals are government Web sites, so they are often not very user-friendly. It is also hard to know whether to trust the ratings and test scores without complete information about state testing and evaluation systems.

An independent source can be simpler and more reliable. One of the best is greatschools.net. It is an easy place to start a search for school ratings. Type in a desired ZIP code and find an instant list of schools with individual reports. Each report lists class sizes and analyzes standardized test scores for overall school ratings. The site also has parent reviews.

Move.com is a comprehensive rental and real estate site that also offers detailed statistics and area school ratings for every state and city in the U.S. Each listing includes general school ratings for educational climate and a technology measure, specific statistics for class sizes and funding and a checklist of additional programs and extracurricular activities.

Researching education offline

Of course, offline education research can be just as educational. Greatschools.net has useful parent reviews, but they are self-selected. As buyers zero in on a house or a neighborhood, they can walk around to get a feel for the area and talk to neighbors. Many are parents with personal experience in the neighborhood schools.

It's also worth the effort to visit the school. Don't just wander into a classroom. Most schools ask guests to sign in and be escorted by a staffer. However, with the proliferation of charter schools and private options, all public schools are competing for students. Principals, teachers or other staffers should be willing to chat about the school and its programs.

Education and area school ratings are too important to not research before buying a home.