Free and reduced-price meal eligibility (FRM) is commonly used in education research and policy applications as an indicator of student poverty. However, using multiple data sources external to the school system, we show that FRM status is a poor proxy for poverty, with eligibility rates far exceeding what would be expected based on stated income…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to create a predictive model to account for the variance in student performance based upon school district categorical expenditures. The study analyzed seven independent variables, which accounted for 16.1% of the variance in student performance of Missouri schools. The study indicated total instructional…

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a policy change to the federally-administered National School Lunch Program that allows schools serving low-income populations to classify all students as eligible for free meals, regardless of individual circumstances. This has implications for the use of free and reduced-price meal (FRM) data to proxy…

Free and reduced-price meal (FRM) data are used ubiquitously to proxy for student disadvantage in education research and policy applications. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)--a recently-implemented policy change to the federally-administered National School Lunch Program--allows schools serving low-income populations to identify all…

Although research has provided a substantial amount of information about key characteristics of effective school leaders, there is a growing need for continued improvement and reflective practice on the continuous development of instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent elementary principals perceive they are…

This is an evaluation report of ESEA Title I programs in St. Louis, Missouri which maintains that despite the decline in funds, St. Louis' Title I children held their own. In 1970, these students scored about two months higher on achievement tests than they had in 1966. The fact that Title I students are not losing ground is considered a…

This Kids Count data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of Missouri's children. The statistical portrait is based on outcome measures of general areas of children's well being: (1) students free/reduced price lunch program; (2) births to mothers without high school diplomas; (3) low birthweight infants; (4) infant mortality; (5)…