Free and Reduced-Price Meals

The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) under the National School Lunch Program provides a proxy measure for the concentration of low-income students within a school. 

Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those from families with incomes that are between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals.  Public schools (including both traditional and charter) are divided into categories by FRPM eligibility. 

High-poverty schools = more than 75.0% of the students are eligible for FRPM 

Mid-high poverty = 50.1% to 75.0% are eligible 

Mid-low poverty = 25.1% to 50.0% are eligible

Low-poverty  = 25.0% or less are eligible

School-Majority Race/Ethnicity

In this report, the majority race/ethnicity is a school-level rather than student-level variable. A school is identified as a specific majority race or ethnicity if a specific race or ethnicity is greater than 50% of the total school population.

The school majority race/ethnicity identified in this report is based on the federal definitions. These categories are Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, No Majority, Other, and White. For the purposes of this report the category “other” contains the data for “Two or more races” and “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.”

NCES Locale Classifications and Criteria

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) locale framework is composed of four basic types (City, Suburban, Town, and Rural) that each contains three subtypes. Below are the four basic types referred to on this report are “Locale Group” with the corresponding subtypes:

CITY:

City – Large (11): Territory inside an Urbanized Area and inside a Principal City with a population of 250,000 or more.

City – Midsize (12): Territory inside an Urbanized Area and inside a Principal City with a population less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000.

City – Small (13): Territory inside an Urbanized Area and inside a Principal City with a population less than 100,000.

SUBRUBAN:

Suburban – Large (21): Territory outside a Principal City and inside an Urbanized Area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Suburban – Midsize (22): Territory outside a Principal City and inside an Urbanized Area with a population less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000.

Suburban – Small (23): Territory outside a Principal City and inside an Urbanized Area with a population less than 100,000.

TOWN:

Town – Fringe (31): Territory inside an Urban Cluster that is less than or equal to 10 miles from an Urbanized Area.

Town – Distant (32): Territory inside an Urban Cluster that is more than 10 miles and less than or equal to 35 miles from an Urbanized Area.

Town – Remote (33): Territory inside an Urban Cluster that is more than 35 miles from an Urbanized Area.

RURAL:

Rural – Fringe (41): Census-defined rural territory that is less than or equal to 5 miles from an Urbanized Area, as well as rural territory that is less than or equal to 2.5 miles from an Urban Cluster.

Rural – Distant (42): Census-defined rural territory that is more than 5 miles but less than or equal to 25 miles from an Urbanized Area, as well as rural territory that is more than 2.5 miles but less than or equal to 10 miles from an Urban Cluster.

Rural – Remote (43): Census-defined rural territory that is more than 25 miles from an Urbanized Area and also more than 10 miles from an Urban Cluster.

For more information on locale code visit: https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/annualreports/topical-studies/locale/definitions

School Type

Public School: a school that is maintained at public expense for the education of the children of a community or district and that constitutes a part of a system of free public education, commonly including primary and secondary schools.

Public Charter School: a school that is a publicly funded school that is typically governed by a group or organization under a legislative contract—a charter—with the state, the district, or another entity. The charter exempts the school from certain state or local rules and regulations.

Grade Level

Elementary Schools: Schools containing grades kindergarten through 5

Middle Schools: Schools containing grades 6 through 8

High Schools: Schools containing grades 9 through 12

Mixed Schools: Schools containing other grade configurations (including K-8, K-12, 7-12, etc.) that do not fit within the prior definitions above.