Examining the Reliability of Student Eligibility for the National School Lunch Program in NAEP With American Community Survey Data

• In Event: 25.065 - Community Eligibility and National School Lunch Program Status: A View From NAEP

Abstract

NAEP results were not reported by NSLP status until 2003 because of poor quality in the NSLP data prior to 2003. American Community Survey includes data on family income; and it includes student enrollment information by grade since 2008. This allows the estimation of student NSLP eligibility according to standards set up by the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). School-reported student NSLP eligibility can be estimated with NAEP. As a result, the results from ACS and NAEP are compared to examine trends of student NSLP eligibility. This paper uses annual ACS data to estimate NSLP eligibility from 2008 through 2015. The results will be compared with estimated NSLP eligibility for NAEP 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
This paper aims to answer four questions: (1) What are the trends of student eligibility for free/reduced-price lunch (FRL) based on American Community Survey data and NAEP data nationally and at the state level? (2) To what extent is the reported student eligibility in NAEP different from that measured with ACS data? (3) Is there a divergence in the trends of NSLP eligibility between NAEP and ACS? (4) Is there also a decline of eligibility for NSLP with increasing grade in the ACS data as in NAEP? In answering these questions, this paper helps to determine whether NAEP student NSLP eligibility is still reliable after the nation-wide rollout of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) option for NSLP in the 2014-15 school year.
The comparisons include: (1) the trend in overall NSLP eligibility in both NAEP and ACS over time; (2) the trend in free and reduced-price lunch, respectively, in NAEP and ACS; (3) the comparisons of NSLP eligibility, overall and in respective free and reduced-price lunch, between NAEP and ACS, by school type and over time; (4) comparisons of NSLP eligibility between NAEP and ACS at grade 8 for selected states.
The preliminary results from the analysis using NAEP mathematics 2013 and 2015 data suggest that: (1) The proportions of students eligible for NSLP reported in NAEP are much larger than the estimates from the ACS data at three grades; (2) The proportions of students eligible for NSLP in NAEP increased from 2013 to 2015 at three grades while ACS data suggests slight decrease at grades 8 and 12; (3) The proportions of students with free-lunch reported in NAEP are much higher than estimates from ACS data while the proportions of students with the reduced-price lunch in NAEP are only half of those estimated from the ACS data.
This presentation provides important validity information about NSLP as an income proxy from a source external to NAEP.

Author

• Qingshu Xie, MacroSys LLC