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Schools & Metropolitan Inequity: Education and Markets in the Late 20th Century

Schools & Metropolitan Inequity: Education and Markets in the Late 20th Century History of Education Society October 2007. The Rise of “Shopping for Schools” in Suburbia Jack Dougherty Educational Studies Program & Cities, Suburbs, and Schools Project Trinity College, Hartford CT

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Schools & Metropolitan Inequity: Education and Markets in the Late 20th Century

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  1. Schools & Metropolitan Inequity: Education and Markets in the Late 20th Century History of Education Society October 2007

  2. The Rise of “Shopping for Schools” in Suburbia Jack Dougherty Educational Studies Program & Cities, Suburbs, and Schools Project Trinity College, Hartford CT October 2007

  3. Historical argument:

  4. Historical argument: -- Middle-class Americans increasingly engaged in “shopping for schools” during latter 20th century

  5. Historical argument: -- Middle-class Americans increasingly engaged in “shopping for schools” during latter 20th century -- “Shopping” and “selling” intentionally linked purchase of private homes with perceived better public schools

  6. Historical argument: -- Middle-class Americans increasingly engaged in “shopping for schools” during latter 20th century -- “Shopping” and “selling” intentionally linked purchase of private homes with perceived better public schools -- Major role in transforming physical space and legal boundaries into what we recognize today as suburbia

  7. Historical argument: -- Middle-class Americans increasingly engaged in “shopping for schools” during latter 20th century -- “Shopping” and “selling” intentionally linked purchase of private homes with perceived better public schools -- Major role in transforming physical space and legal boundaries into what we recognize today as suburbia Why does this matter?

  8. Historical argument: -- Middle-class Americans increasingly engaged in “shopping for schools” during latter 20th century -- “Shopping” and “selling” intentionally linked purchase of private homes with perceived better public schools -- Major role in transforming physical space and legal boundaries into what we recognize today as suburbia Why does this matter?

  9. Historical argument: -- Middle-class Americans increasingly engaged in “shopping for schools” during latter 20th century -- “Shopping” and “selling” intentionally linked purchase of private homes with perceived better public schools -- Major role in transforming physical space and legal boundaries into what we recognize today as suburbia Why does this matter? - Suburban histories rarely mention schools; when they do, misleading time compression

  10. Historical argument: -- Middle-class Americans increasingly engaged in “shopping for schools” during latter 20th century -- “Shopping” and “selling” intentionally linked purchase of private homes with perceived better public schools -- Major role in transforming physical space and legal boundaries into what we recognize today as suburbia Why does this matter? • - Suburban histories rarely mention schools; when they do, misleading time compression • Suburban schools were not a strong magnet in early 1950s, but became one by 1960s & ‘70s

  11. A Suburban Case Study: West Hartford, Connecticut, from 1920s to 2000s

  12. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s

  13. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s Phenomenal pre-WW II suburban housing boom Most building permits for 1- and 2-family homes of any CT municipality, 1922

  14. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s CT Dept of Ed report revealed mediocre school quality 1923

  15. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s CT Dept of Ed report revealed mediocre school quality High school facility -- “unsatisfactory from practically every standpoint” 1923

  16. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s CT Dept of Ed report revealed mediocre school quality High school facility -- “unsatisfactory from practically every standpoint” Elementary schools -- overcrowded that 3 out of 7 ran “illegal” half-day sessions of less than three hours 1923

  17. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s CT Dept of Ed report revealed mediocre school quality High school facility -- “unsatisfactory from practically every standpoint” Elementary schools -- overcrowded that 3 out of 7 ran “illegal” half-day sessions of less than three hours 1923

  18. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s CT Dept of Ed report revealed mediocre school quality High school facility -- “unsatisfactory from practically every standpoint” Elementary schools -- overcrowded that 3 out of 7 ran “illegal” half-day sessions of less than three hours 1923 “There seems no good reason for WH schools to be satisfied with merely achieving standard results…” “Superior schools are the desire of the people.”

  19. 1) WH Schools as Weak Magnets in 1920s City schools widely recognized as superior over suburban “Hartford is to be commended for maintaining the ‘gold standard’ of its college preparatory students. . . [its reputation] is widely and favorably known through eastern collegiate circles.” - Strayer survey, 1937

  20. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s

  21. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Anxiety about WH educational quality in mid-class suburb 1950

  22. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Anxiety about WH educational quality in mid-class suburb 1950

  23. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Anxiety about WH educational quality in mid-class suburb 1950 1951

  24. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Anxiety about WH educational quality in mid-class suburb 1950 “If we lived in a mill town, where the income level was modest, it would not be startling to find that we could not afford the best in public education. To document that we have grade B- secondary education available in West Hartford is a shock of another order.” - West Hartford News, 1951 1951

  25. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Real estate agents increasingly advertised private homes as access to better-quality public schools 1951

  26. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Real estate agents increasingly advertised private homes as access to better-quality public schools During 1954 dispute over redrawing school attendance zones, a West Hartford parent told Board of Ed: “Whenever real estate men sell property, they tell their clients that they (purchasers) are in the Sedgwick, Webster Hill, or Bugbee areas.” 1951

  27. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Real estate agents increasingly advertised private homes as access to better-quality public schools During 1954 dispute over redrawing school attendance zones, a West Hartford parent told Board of Ed: “Whenever real estate men sell property, they tell their clients that they (purchasers) are in the Sedgwick, Webster Hill, or Bugbee areas.” WH school superintendent criticized agents for promoting “social class consciousness”: “Doesn’t it boil down to some people thinking there is more prestige to going to one school than another?” 1951

  28. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Real estate agents increasingly advertised private homes as access to better-quality public schools 1951 Hartford Courant, May 1, 1960

  29. 2) Rise of Selling Homes & Schools, 1950s Real estate agents increasingly advertised private homes as access to better-quality public schools 1951

  30. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores

  31. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores State government, suburban real estate agents, and homebuyers all began to embrace school test data

  32. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores State government, suburban real estate agents, and homebuyers all began to embrace school test data 1973 - WH Board of Ed reaffirmed policy of “not releasing school scores on a town-wide basis”

  33. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores State government, suburban real estate agents, and homebuyers all began to embrace school test data 1973 - WH Board of Ed reaffirmed policy of “not releasing school scores on a town-wide basis” 1985 - CT legislature created statewide test, but no uniform system of reporting data

  34. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores State government, suburban real estate agents, and homebuyers all began to embrace school test data 1973 - WH Board of Ed reaffirmed policy of “not releasing school scores on a town-wide basis” 1985 - CT legislature created statewide test, but no uniform system of reporting data 1989 - National School Reporting Services opened in CT; began selling school data to WH realtors

  35. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores State government, suburban real estate agents, and homebuyers all began to embrace school test data 1973 - WH Board of Ed reaffirmed policy of “not releasing school scores on a town-wide basis” 1985 - CT legislature created statewide test, but no uniform system of reporting data 1989 - National School Reporting Services opened in CT; began selling school data to WH realtors 1992 - CT began uniform reporting of test data on paper

  36. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores State government, suburban real estate agents, and homebuyers all began to embrace school test data 1973 - WH Board of Ed reaffirmed policy of “not releasing school scores on a town-wide basis” 1985 - CT legislature created statewide test, but no uniform system of reporting data 1989 - National School Reporting Services opened in CT; began selling school data to WH realtors 1992 - CT began uniform reporting of test data on paper by 2000 - CT test data more widely accessible on Internet

  37. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores Pre-2000: Data available once a year in local newspaper 1951 Hartford Courant, Jan 6, 1999

  38. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores Pre-2000: Data available once a year in local newspaper Post-2000: Instantly, anywhere, on govt & non-govt sites 1951 Hartford Courant, Jan 6, 1999

  39. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH elem scores higher, wider variation (compared to 1923) Stronger relationship between residence & school quality 1951

  40. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH buyers paid more for homes in higher-scoring school zones, controlling for house & neighborhood characteristics, from 1996 to 2005 1951

  41. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH buyers paid more for homes in higher-scoring school zones, controlling for house & neighborhood characteristics, from 1996 to 2005 1951

  42. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH buyers paid more for homes in higher-scoring school zones, controlling for house & neighborhood characteristics, from 1996 to 2005 1951

  43. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH buyers paid more for homes in higher-scoring school zones, controlling for house & neighborhood characteristics, from 1996 to 2005 A 12 percentage point increase in test scores (one standard deviation) is associated with an average home price increase of: 1951

  44. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH buyers paid more for homes in higher-scoring school zones, controlling for house & neighborhood characteristics, from 1996 to 2005 A 12 percentage point increase in test scores (one standard deviation) is associated with an average home price increase of: $2,244 (pre-2000 period) 1951

  45. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH buyers paid more for homes in higher-scoring school zones, controlling for house & neighborhood characteristics, from 1996 to 2005 A 12 percentage point increase in test scores (one standard deviation) is associated with an average home price increase of: $2,244 (pre-2000 period) $8,060 (post-2000 period) Both expressed in year 2000 dollars 1951

  46. 3) Rise of Shopping for School Test Scores WH buyers paid more for homes in higher-scoring school zones, controlling for house & neighborhood characteristics, from 1996 to 2005 A 12 percentage point increase in test scores (one standard deviation) is associated with an average home price increase of: $2,244 (pre-2000 period) $8,060 (post-2000 period) Both expressed in year 2000 dollars Test-Price relationship became stronger over time 1951

  47. Historical argument: -- Middle-class “shopping for schools” in late 20th century -- Intentionally linked private homes with public schools -- Major role in creation of modern US suburbia http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/educ/css

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