Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > July > 26
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
As test scores rise, the town gets richer
Maybe this is a “duh” study. In districts that score high on standardized tests, homes are worth more. If you want to debate the “chicken or egg” question about wealth and test scores, check out my posts on that topic by going here.
Still I found it interesting that a recent study of Ohio found that big gains in test scores by a school district translated directly to nice jumps in home prices there. From Education Week:
An Ohio study suggests that high scores by public school students on state exams may help boost a community’s home prices. Donald Haurin, an economics professor at Ohio State University in Columbus, examined 77,578 house-buying transactions for the year 2000 in seven urban Ohio communities and compared them to the 4th and 9th grade test scores in those districts. On average, he found that a 20 percent increase in a district’s pass rate on the state tests translated to a 7 percent increase in the home prices in that district. His study was published in the May issue of the Journal of Regional Science.
So the pro- and anti-testing crowds can debate all day about the value and meaning of standardized test results, but one group pretty clearly seems to believe those results are meaningful and useful — home buyers.
In your view, are these folks making rational choices? Does a sudden jump in test scores really mean a school district should command that much more respect?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Testing
An education carnival odyssey
This week’s Carnival of Education is up over at the blog Text Savvy.
You can find my post on median income and standardized test scores included in this weekly roundup of the best posts around the education blogosphere last week.
The post I found most interesting this week is from a blog called Texas ED, who clearly has had a good experience with Odyssey of the Mind.
Odyssey of the Mind is an extracurricular program for kids that promotes creativity. Kids compete in teams against other teams to see who can solve an assigned problem most creatively.
Overall, I like Odyssey of the Mind and similar programs, although I’ve seen teams of widely varying quality — from those who produce very smart and interesting results to other for whom the program is just a step above playtime.
Readers, do you have experience with Odyssey or its imitators? Tell us about your experience. Do you believe, like Texas Ed, that they truly enhance student learning and creativity in kids?
UPDATE: My post about Dixie Allen’s party switch and support of vouchers also made this week’s Carnival of Ohio Politics.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: The Carnival of Education
