What’s that old saying? Something like: “Every time a school bus drives away with children in it, a mother and father get a few more hours of relaxation.”
OK, so that’s not really a saying — but it’s back to school time, which means it’s time for parents to evaluate where their kids learn.
Thankfully, Trulia already did much of the heavy lifting. Working with data from SchoolDigger.com to determine the most improved school districts in the 100 largest metros, Trulia then matched median home price to the district.
Remember: These are not the best schools in their respective districts, just ones that have improved the most in the past five years according to the study.
Most improved schools in the biggest metros
In most organized sports, “most improved” is typically awarded to the kid who went from eating gum off the underside of the bleacher to actually scoring a a point in one game — or because the coaches had no other awards to give. In real estate, though, it’s much more useful.
Trulia evaluated schools based on state standardized test scores relative to schools in the same district. The schools with the most improved test scores are the gauge to determine efforts taken to enhance the learning experience for students.
Trulia graphic showing top ten most improved school districts.
The most improved school district comes out of Brooklyn in the New York City Geographic District 15, the study says. Of the 181 districts studied, NYCGD-15 ranked no. 82 in 2015. In 2011, the same district ranked 160. It is now ranked no. 47. The median home price in NCYGD-15 is $1,588,185.
Chicago’s Community High School District 218 jumped 41 places by 2016 to no. 61 out of 114. Median home price in this school district is $176,551, Trulia says, and there are 5,590 students in the district.
Ninos Charter in Houston is one 56 districts in the area and ranks no. 22 in terms of improvement — though there are only three schools in the entire Ninos Charter. Homes surrounding the Ninos Charter have a median price of $399,900, Trulia says.
Los Angeles and Riverside both have two schools improving better than their peers. The Acton-Agua Dulce Unified (K-12) District climbed 14 spaces to earn no. 35 out of 76 districts in the area. Victor Valley Union High School District in Riverside now ranks 26 out of 47 districts in the area, moving up 12 spots since 2011. The median home price in the Acton-Agua district is $519,216. In Victor Valley, median home price of area homes is $211,634.
The most improved school district out of the San Francisco area is the San Francisco Unified district, according to the report. The school district jumped up four places to no. 12 from 2011 to 2015. The median home price is $1,177,099.
Culpeper County Public Schools in Washington D.C. was the most improved school district, moving four spaces to no. 14 out of 24 school districts. The median price for homes in this district is $301,630, Trulia says.
