Landmark study shows test scores increase when students eat breakfast   MINNEAPOLIS, MN - (BUSINESS WIRE) - The results of a landmark study released today show that elementary school students who were provided breakfast at school every morning showed significant improvements in their math and reading test scores, increased attentiveness and improved behavior. Minneapolis-based General Mills provided cereals such as Cheerios, Wheaties, Golden Grahams, Kix and Trix to six Minnesota elementary schools for a period of two years for the study. Researchers and policy makers alike are enthusiastic about the positive results of the independent study, conducted by the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Achievement. "This landmark school breakfast study is the first long-term, comprehensive study that links the effect of eating a nutritious breakfast to educational achievement," said Mary Begalle of the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning. "It proves what educators have known for years: hungry children don't learn well." The results of the two-year study indicate that when students start the day with a nutritious breakfast, test scores over a period of time can increase up to 16 percent and discipline problems can drop by 40 to 50 percent, according to the published conclusions of the study. "The research provides solid evidence that children learn better when they are given breakfast each morning," said Dr. Kyla Wahlstrom of the University of Minnesota, who serves as lead researcher for the project. "We were expecting higher test scores, but I was really surprised at the significant decreases in discipline problems and visits to the nurse's office." Schools participating in the breakfast study saw math scores increase by up to 16 percent and reading scores increase by up to 10 percent, while visits to the nurse's office declined by 30 to 60 percent, depending on the school, Wahlstrom said. The study also gauged teachers' feelings about feeding students' breakfast each morning, and those feelings were overwhelmingly positive, Wahlstrom said. Teachers on average said they felt that breakfast "strongly contributes" to better learning, physical well-being, and social interaction for students. "We feel this study will be instrumental in establishing a statewide breakfast program," said Alice Johnson, state representative and author of the bill to provide state funding for breakfast programs. "We want Minnesota to continue to be a precedent-setting champion of education. We certainly don't want our kids to walk through the school day hungry and distracted." "For a sleepy child at the beginning of the school day, breakfast is a vital part of the curriculum and an integral element of a productive and successful educational day," said Begalle.