A binding state mandate makes schools 33 percentage points more likely to offer the SBP, and SBP availability increases math, reading, and science achievement in ECLS-K data¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2015 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Schools where the percent of FRP students exceeds the state threshold are 33 percentage points more likely to offer breakfast through the SBP. → Frisvold David E 2015 q3 i? Dividing the mandate effect by the first stage, SBP availability increases math achievement by 29.2 percent of a standard deviation, reading by 36.2 percent, and science by 48.3 percent. → Frisvold David E 2015 (2)

Evidence¶

Frisvold David E 2015¶

Frisvold David E. (2015). Nutrition and Cognitive Achievement: An Evaluation of the School Breakfast Program. Journal of Public Economics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.12.003

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Difference-in-differences first-stage estimate in the ECLS-K 5th-grade sample (3,040 students), using school-administrator reports of SBP availability. The study reports schools above the threshold are "33 percentage points (with a standard error of 0.141) more likely to offer breakfast through the SBP".

"Schools where the percent of FRP students exceeds the state threshold, so that the state mandate binds, are 33 percentage points (with a standard error of 0.141) more likely to offer breakfast through the SBP than schools without a binding mandate"

Frisvold David E 2015 (2)¶

Frisvold David E. (2015). Nutrition and Cognitive Achievement: An Evaluation of the School Breakfast Program. Journal of Public Economics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.12.003

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Scaled ECLS-K difference-in-differences estimates dividing mandate effects by the first stage (0.329). The study reports "the availability of the SBP increases math achievement by 29.2 percent of a standard deviation" and notes the estimates are not precisely estimated, possibly due to the smaller sample.

"After dividing the achievement estimates by 0.329, the availability of the SBP increases math achievement by 29.2 percent of a standard deviation, reading achievement by 36.2 percent of a standard deviation, and science achievement by 48.3 percent of a standard deviation"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Each year of attending a school with a binding SBP mandate increases math achievement by 0.572 points (2.7% of a standard deviation), reading by 0.470 points (2.0%), and science by 0.130 points (0.9%) — related
• A binding state SBP mandate increases 4th-grade math achievement by 2.2 points (7.7% of a standard deviation) and reading by 2.0 points (5.4% of a standard deviation) in NAEP difference-in-differences estimates — related
• The effect of a binding SBP mandate is larger for low-income students, males, and students from larger families, and does not vary with threshold levels from 10 to 40 percent — related
• A binding SBP mandate increases milk and fruit consumption and decreases soda consumption, but its effects on attendance are imprecise, suggesting the achievement effect operates through improved nutrition — related
• Falsification tests show a binding SBP mandate is unrelated to achievement upon school entry, Title I funding, principal experience, and vigorous exercise frequency — related
• In NAEP regression discontinuity estimates, exceeding the state threshold increases math achievement by 2.6 points (9.1% of a standard deviation) and reading achievement by 4.4 points (12.2% of a standard deviation) — related
• School breakfast programs show suggestive positive effects on academic performance, with clearest effects on mathematics and arithmetic grades in undernourished children — related
• Robust RCTs of school breakfast programs failed to find behavioral benefits, with low and variable attendance and a shift from at-home to at-school consumption limiting impact — related