Facts:

• The average school/student poverty rate in the Metro Boston area is 0.33 in 2010 and 0.38 in 2015 (slightly increased)
• Student economic status was better in 2015 in the City of Boston compared to 2010
• The average percent change in student poverty rate in the Boston Metro area was 45.2% between 2015 and 2010

‍

Map Tips:

• Click on a block group to show opportunity level in all three dimensions in Child Opportunity Index (Educational Opportunity, Health and Environmental Opportunity and Social and Economic Opportunity)).
• Click on schools (points) to see details explaining the school name and relevant statistics.
• Zoom in and out to see detailed statistics on the right sidebar.

‍

Definition:

School (student) poverty rate is defined as the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, calculated as total students receiving free and reduced lunch divided by total students in the public school

‍

Data Source:

National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey, 2010-2011/2014-2015 school year

‍

Footnote: The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program. “Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, for which students can be charged no more than 40 cents.” (NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ROGRAM, http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf) The rate comparing students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals over total enrollment is an indicator for school (student) poverty level. Percentage change of this rate is calculated as (rate in 2015 – rate in 2010)/rate in 2010 * 100, which reflects a 5-yr change of school/student poverty level. If the rate was 0 in 2010 and increased in 2015, the percentage change is coded as 100%.