August 19, 2008
...A study published in the August issue of Economics of Education Review by USC associate professor Gary Painter and co-author David I. Levine of the University of California, Berkeley, uses a new combination of data to determine those hopes aren't just a hunch. The researchers found that the average test scores of youth are influenced by the achievement of their peers.
On average, students who attended a better high school than their junior high classmates had small but statistically-significant test score gains than the students who attended worse schools, according to the study. The results here indicate that parents who pay extra to live near advantaged neighbors are buying valuable improvements in their children's educations...