A for affordable
Parents could save themselves a lot of money by looking past decile ratings, writes John Anthony.
Properties with school appeal
House prices in prestigious school zones have reached eye-watering levels, new data shows. Figures from property research site Homes.co.nz, show average house prices are generally much higher in state school zones which have better academic outcomes.
But experts say this should not be the case, because all public schools offer the same National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualification and a school’s decile was not representative of its quality of teachers or performance.
In Auckland, four of the top five schools with the highest NCEA level 3 pass rate have average property prices well in excess of $1 million.
However, there is one school zone in Auckland that bucks the trend.
Western Springs College had a 96 per cent pass rate for NCEA level 3 last year – the highest pass rate in all of Auckland.
But the average sale price there was still less than $1 million.
By contrast, the average sale price in Auckland’s exclusive double grammar zone – which gives families access to Auckland Grammar School and Epsom Girls Grammar – is $1.77m.
The NCEA level 3 pass rate for Auckland Grammar was 73 per cent – partly because it offers University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). The upper bands of the senior school study towards the CIE examinations and the lower bands study for NCEA.
Epsom Girls Grammar had an NCEA level 3 pass rate of 91 per cent.
North Shore high schools are all high performers, but the majority have zones with average property prices of more than $1m.
Homes.co.nz spokesman Jeremy O’Hanlon said parents could still get into a great school for around $1m in most areas of Auckland.
‘‘I’m not sure the additional $770,000 for double grammar zone is money well spent if your sole focus is on schooling,’’ O’Hanlon said.
He recommended people avoid moving into areas where there was a significant premium paid for school zones if they were not at that stage of life.
‘‘You’re paying for something that gives you no direct benefit.’’
In Wellington and Christchurch school’s pass rates were largely proportional to the average house price in the area. An exception was Newlands College with a high pass rate of 85 per cent but with an average house price of just $500,000.
The Homes.co.nz data was produced using Fairfax Media’s School Report project, which includes information on all schools, including all NCEA results up to 2015 and National Standards results up to 2014.
Massey University Institute of Education associate professor Tracy Riley said the many parents who chose higher-decile schools would not necessarily get higher academic achievement.
All schools offered the same curriculum and there should not be any difference in the quality of teachers between high and lowdecile schools, she said.
‘‘I think decile is a bit of a red herring,’’ Riley said.
I’m not sure the additional $770,000 for double grammar zone is money well spent if your sole focus is on schooling. Homes.co.nz spokesman Jeremy O’Hanlon
The decile system allocates a percentage of school funding based on factors such as the wealth of the school’s community.
Decile one schools get the most taxpayer dollars because their need is deemed greatest, and decile 10 schools get the least. They are forced to raise the balance from parent donations and fund raising.
The state schooling system was designed to give all children in New Zealand a good education, and when parents moved kids into highdecile schools because they were perceived as being better it fuelled a divide, she said. ‘‘It just exasperates inequities.’’ She believed CIE exams did not provide better academic outcomes than NCEA and New Zealanders should be making the most of the national education.
‘‘I would argue that we need to support our national qualification and that it does indeed offer what our high-achieving students need.’’
New Zealand Parent Teachers Association president Diane O’Sullivan, said there was a public misconception that the higher the decile, the better a school’s academic performance.
‘‘That’s just not true,’’ O’Sullivan said. ‘‘Some of our best teachers are in those decile one and two schools, and if you’re looking at value-added then the decile school means nothing really.’’
She pointed to McAuley High School – a decile one school which won a Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Award this year.
‘‘People would shy away from it because it happens to be decile one, and yet it’s a brilliant school.’’
High decile schools may provide additional opportunities not offered at lower decile schools, she said.
‘‘They may have more opportunities for fancy things like trips overseas but that’s not necessarily a good education.’’
When selecting a school parents should look at the Education Review Office which reports on the quality of education in all New Zealand schools.
They should also visit the school, preferably during lunch and morning tea time, to see how the students were interacting.
Considering the cultural diversity of a school was also important as New Zealand became an increasingly diverse society.
‘‘We’ve got to learn to live with all sorts of people and you’re not going to do that in a one ethnicity group.’’
But a school’s academic performance was perhaps the most important consideration.
‘‘Let’s face it, what are children going to school for? They’re going for academic achievement.’’
REINZ spokesman Bryan Thomson said the school zone of a property was very important for some buyers.
‘‘It’s a critical purchasing factor for a sector of the buying public,’’ Thomson said.
House buyers might prefer certain schools for a range of reasons such as sporting reputation, academic record or parental links to the school, he said.
Houses in Auckland’s double grammar zone were sought after.
‘‘If your house is zoned double grammar in Auckland that’s going to have a positive impact on the level of competition you may expect