A Further Examination of Free and Reduced Poverty Levels

Earlier this month, the New York Times elaborated on a working report by researchers Katherine Michelmore and Susan Dynarski from the University of Michigan. The study focuses on the method used to track school-wide poverty levels and its connection to overall levels of socio-economic need within that school/district. The researchers suggest that looking solely at the Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) eligibility rates as the primary indicator of socio-economic need provides an inadequate representation of that school's overall level of disadvantagedness.

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Instead, the researchers suggest that the rate of FRL eligibility should be further broken down to examine student persistence within that subgroup. For example, it is not enough to just say that 25% of students are eligible for FRL and thus considered socio-economically disadvantaged. Instead, the University of Michigan team suggests that schools and districts should indicate the overall length of time that students and families have remained eligible for the FRL program. In their research, Michelmore and Dynarski found a substantial negative linear correlation between years spent as FRL eligible and corresponding test-scores in 8th grade. While they do not state causation between FRL eligibility with reduced performance (given that the gaps between affluent peers remains unchanged from the early grades) they do suggest that this measure appropriately recognizes varying levels of poverty within their communities. Thus, while the old measures would label two schools with 25% FRl eligibility as equally disadvantaged, the methodology suggested by Michelmore and Dynarski would further break down that 25% into levels of persistent poverty--a factor that they believe that ultimately suggests higher need.

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Although the study examines Michigan public schools, the researcher's analysis of FRL measures is at the very least anecdotally applicable to San Diego--especially given the high levels of FRL eligibility that exist within San Diego Unified (SDUSD). According to the California Department of Education reporting, 63.3% of SDUSD students were FRL eligible during the 2014-2015 school year--a rate that grew from 62.5% in the previous year (specific statistics compiled by the Ed-Data demographic reporting service). While this statistic does not break this rate down based on grade levels, consistent FRL eligibility, etc., it is reasonable to assume that a large portion of that 62.5% carried over as FRL eligible in the following school year.

Regardless of how it is looked at, the high rates of FRL eligibility within San Diego speak volumes about the socio-economic need of our community.