Food for Thought: Assessing the Experimental Impact of Offering Snacks During Community College Placement Testing

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: Division J Poster Session: Society, Culture, and Change

Abstract

Concerned about the problem of food insecurity and implications for student success, higher education leaders are drawing on their intuition – backed by strong theory and empirical research – to provide students with food. In this paper, we investigate the experimental impact of a college’s “Food for Thought” initiative in which a random sample of students were offered snacks during their placement testing session. We compare the test results of those who were offered snacks to those who were not and do not find any evidence that the intervention impacted placement test results. We discuss potential explanations for the null findings, including implementation challenges, and share lessons learned from this community college’s attempt to help students obtain their best possible test scores.

Authors

• Katharine Broton, University of Iowa

• Shinji Katsumoto, The University of Iowa

• David Monaghan