SNAP Distribution Schedules and Student Standardized Test Score Performance

Nearly half of all children participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides benefits to low-income households to purchase food. Variation in the timing of monthly SNAP benefits distribution is associated with within-month variation in diet quality, food expenditures, and health and achievement outcomes, including SAT and year-end exam scores. However, it is unclear how this variation in benefit distribution impacts test scores. Psychologist Taryn Morrissey and social policy scholar Daniel Miller will examine the association between the number of days since receipt of SNAP benefits and student math and reading test scores in fourth and eighth grades. They will analyze data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s SNAP Distribution Policy Database, the Common Core of Data, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress for their study.