According to a new report prepared by Ingrid Gould Ellen and Keren Mertens Horn for the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, federally assisted households had lower access to high-performing schools compared to all renters. The authors identified schools accessible to assisted households by identifying the elementary school closest to each household. They used a number of different measures to determine school performance. Schools were ranked on combined math and reading test scores. Rankings also included racial and ethnic demographics and percent of students receiving free and reduced price lunch to provide a broader picture of each school.

The authors found that school access varied by type of subsidy. For all renter households, which include unassisted households, the median state ranking of the nearest school was in the 37th percentile, while the median state ranking of the nearest school for public housing residents was in the 19th percentile. For voucher holders, the median ranking was in the 26th percentile, and the median ranking of the nearest school for Project-Based Section 8 residents was in the 28th percentile. The median state ranking of the nearest school for LIHTC tenants was in the 31st percentile. While there is variation in access between the different subsidy types, the data show that access to high-performing schools is lower among households receiving federal assistance than among renter households as a whole.

While voucher holders lived near higher-performing schools than public housing residents, they lived nearer to lower-performing schools than LITHC tenants or tenants in Project-Based Section 8 developments. This finding is important because voucher holders are able to choose where they live. The authors point to several possible reasons for why voucher holders lack access to high performing schools, such as unavailability of affordable housing in neighborhoods with high performing schools, or lack of access to the information needed to find affordable housing in those neighborhoods. Additionally, administrative restrictions in the voucher program could make it more difficult for voucher holders to move into a different district with higher-performing schools.

Another explanation why voucher holders lack access to high-performing schools is that voucher holders tend to be non-white, and non-white students in general have access to and attend lower-performing schools. The median state ranking for schools nearest to white voucher holders was in the 40th percentile, while the median ranking for schools nearest to black voucher holders was in the 20th percentile. The median ranking for schools nearest to Hispanic voucher holders was in the 25th percentile. For poor households in each group, the numbers were similar to those for voucher holders, suggesting that race has a role in why voucher holders have lower access to high-performing schools than the population as a whole.

Overall, the authors found that public housing tenants and voucher holders live in areas with lower-performing schools than other low income households and renters. It also shows that non-white voucher holders attend lower-performing schools than white voucher holders. The authors note that housing vouchers have the potential to enable households to move to neighborhoods with better schools and better opportunities in general, but currently do not do so. They suggest that state and local advocacy promoting fair housing goals can help to improve housing assistance and move low income households to neighborhoods with better schools.

Click here to download the report, Do Federally Assisted Households Have Access to High Performing Schools.