Testing the real estate market
Current testing policies which rank schools on the basis of student test scores, contribute to a two-tier school system, including the racial re-segregation of schools, housing, and a widening of the gap between rich a poor. All these factors come together in a real estate market where home buyers pay a big premium to live near top-ranked schools.
Chicago Tribune real estate writer Mary Ellen Podmolik writes:
How much more do they have to pay for a home that feeds into a top-ranked elementary school as opposed to an average-ranked school? Nationally, try an extra $50 per square foot, on average, according to the data crunchers at Redfin.
In the Chicago area, the median price of a home near top-tier schools was $257,500, 58.5 percent higher than the median price of
