District Science Results by Eligibility for the National School Lunch Program

Compared to students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch in large central city schools…

• at grade 4, eligible students in Austin, Houston, and New York City had higher average scores, while eligible students in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles had lower average scores.
• at grade 8, eligible students in Boston had higher average scores, while eligible students in Atlanta and Los Angeles had lower average scores.

Nation – district gaps narrower when comparing low-income students

• At both grades 4 and 8, the gap in average scores between the nation and the individual districts for all students ranged from 2 to 30 points, with the nation's score higher. When the comparison between nation and district at both grades is based only on low-income students, the gaps in average scores ranged from almost none to 19 points, with the nation's score higher.