Impact of Controlled Choice Assignment on Home Values

Abstract

The Controlled Choice assignment policy adopted by Rockford School District in 1996 and used in several other school districts removes neighborhood school assignments and splits the district into zones from which parents select schools, with final assignment dependent on the racial mix of the schools and the student’s race. This analysis is the first to show that there is an average loss of $3,700 for homes due to implementation and a gain of $2,980 upon termination of the policy, and the impacts are directly tied to the neighborhood school to which the home was previously assigned. (JEL H75, R21)