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. 2025 Jun;47(2):413-435.
doi: 10.3102/01623737231217683. Epub 2024 Jan 8.

MEASURING SCHOOL ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE

Michelle Spiegel  1 , Leah R Clark  2 , Thurston Domina  3 , Vitaly Radsky  3 , Paul Y Yoo  4 , Andrew Penner  4
Affiliations

MEASURING SCHOOL ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE

Michelle Spiegel et al. Educ Eval Policy Anal. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Many educational policies hinge on the valid measurement of student economic disadvantage at the school level. Measures based on free and reduced-price lunch enrollment are used widely. However, recent research raises questions about their reliability, particularly following the introduction of universal free lunch in certain schools and districts. Using unique data linking the universe of students in Oregon public schools to IRS tax records and other data housed at the U.S. Census Bureau, we provide the first examination of how well different measures capture school economic disadvantage. We find that, in Oregon, direct certification provides the best widely-available measure, both over time and across the distribution of school economic disadvantage. By contrast, neighborhood-based measures consistently perform relatively poorly.

Keywords: Economically Disadvantaged Students; Measurement of Poverty; School Economic Disadvantage; School Lunch; Validity.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Trends in student economic disadvantage in Oregon across measures, 2010–2017
Source: ODE, IRS 1040, OR SNAP DRB Approval Numbers: CBDRB-FY2022-CES010–023, CBDRB-FY21-CES014-017.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Trends in the correlation between the Benchmark (SNAP/IRS 3 year) and candidate measures, 2010–2017
Source: ODE, IRS 1040, OR SNAP DRB Approval Numbers: CBDRB-FY2022-CES010-023, CBDRB-FY21-CES014-017.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Relationship between candidate measures and Benchmark (SNAP/IRS 3 year) across the distributions
Source: ODE, IRS 1040, OR SNAP DRB Approval Numbers: CBDRB-FY2022-CES010-023, CBDRB-FY21-CES014-017. Note. Axes ranges differ slightly to optimize visibility. Data is from academic year 2016–2017. Measures are standardized, with higher values indicating higher economic disadvantage and lower values indicating lower economic disadvantage.
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References

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