In this report, La Follette students assess best practices to help the Madison Metropolitan School District improve measures of student economic disadvantage.
Summary
This report reviews best practices from other states to assist the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) in exploring alternative metrics to replace free-and-reduced-price-lunch (FRPL) as a measure of student economic disadvantage. Because FRPL has limitations as a proxy for economic disadvantage, this analysis considers alternatives such as household income data, geographically based data, or direct certification, which involves using data on parental participation in public assistance programs. This report recommends using data from MMSD’s material fee waiver process in combination with parental education and race in the short term. It also recommends moving toward a direct certification approach like the one used in Massachusetts as a long-term solution.
Information
- Course: Workshop in Public Affairs, PA 869 taught by J. Michael Collins, Spring 2024
- Authors: Matthew Akins, Lauri Asbury, Nate Vander Velden, Dominique Villasenor and Mia Williams
- Client: The Madison Metropolitan School District