Pennsylvania Home Buying: How to Assess School Districts
With the majority of young families looking to buy a home in any given part of the United States, it’s inevitable that they will consider the quality of their area’s education system when making their decision. Assessing the quality of a school district is easier than ever due to the wealth of resources available online—from reputational rankings to student performance data—for prospective homebuyers to understand which schools are the best. For those looking to buy a home in Pennsylvania, here are several easy-to-access resources for evaluating Pennsylvania school districts.
Due to the importance of school districts to many potential homebuyers, real estate agents and websites offer a variety of resources for assessing the quality of a district. Niche.com, a website focused on researching areas across multiple categories such as real estate, schools, and lifestyle, provides reputational rankings of Pennsylvania school districts through its comprehensive “2019 Best School Districts in Pennsylvania” report. This report ranks districts by performance in areas such as academics, the quality of teachers, diversity, and additional factors.
In addition to reputation-based resources, performance-based resources can inform homebuyers of the success of Pennsylvania’s students. The Pennsylvania School Performance Profile is a website dedicated to providing data and metrics on all 500 Pennsylvania public school districts. Homebuyers can access valuable data points such as aggregate SAT scores and graduation rates for each school district.
Access Additional Resources for More Detailed Assessments
While reputational rankings and performance profiles can provide a good overview of the quality of school districts in the state, any serious assessment should include resources with information on finer details. The Pennsylvania Department of Education website compiles resources such as district-level budgets, organizational charts, teacher and administrator information, and more. These slightly more niche resources can help inform homebuyers of the workings of the various districts and make a more informed decision.
It is important to remember that district information is only part of the puzzle; another crucial factor for potential homebuyers is to assess the individual school within the district. Pennsylvanians should use resources such as the Great Schools guide, which evaluates the quality of individual schools within the district, in addition to the district-level resources used above.
Take Advantage of Out-of-State Resources
For those living outside of Pennsylvania, evaluation of this state’s school districts can be difficult. Luckily, outside sources can provide valuable information. US News & World Report’s 2019 ranking of high schools in Pennsylvania is accessible to anyone, and provides rankings within the overall context of the United States. C2 Education, an education service provider, provides an in-depth guide to the 5th-8th grade education available in Pennsylvania. It is important to consider these perspectives when making an educated evaluation of the best Pennsylvania school districts.
Conclusions Based on Your Evaluation
Buying a home in Pennsylvania—or any place, for that matter—involves a lot of factors in addition to the quality of the school district, but it’s probably one of the most important considerations for young families looking to move or invest in a particular area. By assessing school districts, homebuyers can make an informed decision on the quality of education within that particular district, as well as the community benefits associated with it.
- Start by researching reputational rankings and performance profiles for Pennsylvania school districts.
- Access detailed resources such as the Pennsylvania Department of Education website for more specific data.
- Utilize out-of-state resources such as US News & World Report’s 2019 ranking and C2 Education’s in-depth guide for overall context.
By leveraging the resources available, Pennsylvania homebuyers can better articulate the benefits of particular school districts, and ultimately make an informed decision when buying a home.