Roundtable:
Toward New Measures of Student Poverty: Perspectives from Research, Policy, and Philanthropy
(Education)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
An accurate measure of the number of low-income students is critical for allocating resources to school districts and schools, as well as for meeting accountability requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Researchers and policymakers have found that schools and districts require additional resources to provide higher-need students with educational opportunities equal to those of their lower-need peers, which is why education funding and accountability systems depend on accurate counts of low-income students. Until 2010, one measure generally fit the bill: eligibility for the federal free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL) program. However, since 2010, policy changes enacted by Congress have expanded the use of the community eligibility provision (CEP), which provides free lunch to all students in qualifying schools and districts, as well as the use of direct certification, which reduces or eliminates the collection of FRPL status through paper forms. These changes bring welcome relief to many school administrators and parents, and needed nutrition to millions of public school students. But they also herald the end of FRPL status as a uniform, student-level measure of economic disadvantage.
While there is growing awareness of these issues, there has been little effort to take stock of new measures of student poverty nationwide, assess their costs and benefits, and consider their implications for research, policy, and philanthropy. This panel engages speakers with diverse experiences and expertise in measuring student poverty. Two speakers shed light on the practical and financial consequences of changes to FRPL status and alternatives like direct certification. They bring insights from state and local education agencies and work in accountability and school finance. Two speakers offer perspectives from research, including current investigations of student poverty measures and the challenges that come with aligning measures across states and over time. The moderator will knit together speaker offerings with guiding questions and reflections on the importance of accurate counts of low-income students for evidence-based decision making in the public and philanthropic sectors.
Measures of student poverty allow diverse stakeholders to understand socioeconomic disparities in education and formulate efforts to expand opportunity. This roundtable will explore existing measures and advance the conversation on alternatives in service of research, policy, and philanthropic goals.
