Amy asked me to post an open thread on how parents can choose a good school for their kids.

It’s mildly amusing that strong voucher opponents argue against the notion of choice in schools, because truthfully the middle class and wealthy already have that choice. They choose their schools every time they decide which community to live in. The more money you have, the more choice you have. The wealthiest can even choose to send their child to a private school.

When we were deciding which Jersey suburb to move to, we took into account two variables — commute time into New York City and the quality of the schools. In fact, I even made a chart with one column with the time spent on a bus and the other with percentage of high school students who went on to four year colleges. Certain towns were eliminated, because we couldn’t afford the homes there. We went to the town that was at the top of the chart and put a bid on a home immediately.

So, now that Amy is shopping around for towns and schools, what variables should she examine? I just went with the four year college statistic. All that information is available online. But what other factors should she check out? Since there is such a strong correlation between SES and schools, should she just buy a home in the wealthiest town that she can afford?