What does this indicator measure?

This indicator measures the percentage of students, by school district, who received free or reduced meal prices at school during the 07-08, 08-09, 09-10, and 10-11 school years.  Free and reduced meal eligibility is based on a household’s income and family size, and is thus often utilized as an indicator of socio-economic status.  Free and reduced meal rates in the area have a high negative correlation with NYS standardized test scores, and are thus also a predictor of schooling outcomes on such tests.  However, this does not mean that Free and Reduced Meal rates are indicator of school quality.  To use them as such would be inaccurate.