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. -- 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. 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 “There seems no good reason for WH schools to be satisfied with merely achieving standard results…” “Superior schools are the desire of the people.” 1923

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. 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 1951 “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

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 1951 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.”

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

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. 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 1951 A 12 percentage point increase in test scores (one standard deviation) is associated with an average home price increase of:

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 1951 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)

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 1951 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

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 1951 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

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