An apple a day : an evaluation of the impact of the School Breakfast Program on academic achievement
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Thesis (M.P.P.)--Georgetown University, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references.; Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. This paper examines the impact of both eating school breakfast and attending a school that offers the United States Department of Agriculture's School Breakfast Program on primary school academic achievement over time. I use data from the 1999 through 2007 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99. An ordinary least squares model is used to examine the effects of School Breakfast Program offering and participation in the program on academic achievement, as operationalized through percent growth in reading and math in the early formative years (kindergarten through third grade), testing years (third through eighth grade), and in the entire primary school sample (kindergarten through eighth grade). The probability of having excessive unexcused absences and tardies serves as a proxy for poor academic performance, as individuals who spend less time in class often perform lower than peers with consistent attendance. I find that eating school breakfast and attending a school that offers the School Breakfast Program is associated with increases in reading and math test scores over time, both in the early formative years and across the entire sample of kindergarten to eighth grade, particularly in the area of mathematics.
Author: Danielle Griswold
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1127402146