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Free and Reduced-Price Meal Eligibility Does Not Measure Student Poverty: Evidence and Policy Significance. Working Paper No. 252-0521

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  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, Washington, DC 20007. Tel: 202-403-5796; Fax: 202-403-6783; e-mail: info@caldercenter.org; Web site: https://caldercenter.org
    • Peer Reviewed:
      N
    • Source:
      44
    • Sponsoring Agency:
      Walton Family Foundation
    • Education Level:
      Elementary Secondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Poverty; Low Income Students; Measurement Techniques; Accuracy; Elementary Secondary Education; Neighborhoods; Family Income; Academic Achievement; Lunch Programs; Eligibility
    • Subject Terms:
      Missouri
    • Abstract:
      Free and reduced-price meal eligibility (FRM) is commonly used in education research and policy applications as an indicator of student poverty. However, using multiple data sources external to the school system, we show that FRM status is a poor proxy for poverty, with eligibility rates far exceeding what would be expected based on stated income thresholds for program participation. This is true even without accounting for community eligibility for free meals, although community eligibility has exacerbated the problem in recent years. Over the course of showing the limitations of using FRM data to measure poverty, we provide promising validity evidence for a new, publicly-available measure of school poverty based on local-area family incomes.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2021
    • Accession Number:
      ED613019