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Algorithm Input
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Weighting
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Comments
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Spending Per Pupil State Percentile Rank
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40%
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Spending per pupil is probably the most important financial metric for the district. We selected the State Ranking for the heaviest weight since costs across states can differ greatly. The state ranking of Spending Per Pupil gives the homeowner a good idea of how their district stacks up when it comes to paying for education. Good school performance and the ability to pay for it are probably highly correlated with sustainable home value.
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Spending Per Pupil National Percentile Rank
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25%
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The National ranking gets the second largest weighting in the rating. The National ranking has the disadvantage of not accounting for differences in costs across states. For example, $5,000 in Louisiana probably pays for more teacher time and facilities than $5,000 in New York. This is compensated for in the rating calculation by giving more weighting to the state ranking.
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Capital Spending National Percentile Rank
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15%
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Capital Spending (National Percentile Rank) is the next financial metric we tracked closely. This tells how much the district is investing in infrastructure. This metric receives a lower weighting as it can move year to year.
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Balance Sheet Health
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10%
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If a district is in debt and will take a long time to get out based on current revenues the district gets fewer points than one with good financial reserves.
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In some cases capital spending and budget data are not available for a district. In these cases the HomeSurfer rating is calculated using a 70% weighting for the State percentile rank and a 30% weighting for the National percentile rank.
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