Overcoming Summer Learning Loss

In a month or two, students will be returning to school and it is well known, at least to most teachers, that students lose some of what they've learned over the summer.  It has been observed that a student starts the new year at a lower achievement level than at the end of the previous year. This is often referred to as summer learning loss, summer setback, or summer slide and this is not a new phenomena. It was first noticed as far back as 1906.  

Research indicates that students lose up to a month's worth of learning during summer holidays but the scores declined more for math than reading, and students lost more in the upper grades of school. Furthermore, it appears the amount of loss in reading is more in the lower socioeconomic groups than say in the middle class but there is no difference for math.

One theory on why students in the lower socioeconomic groups suffer higher losses has to do with the resources available.  In school, everyone has access to books, the internet, and information but once summer arrives, many of those same students lose their access to books, etc and their parents are unable to provide the financial and Human Resources that students from higher income families have access to and thus they lose less information.

Historically, school leaders, educators, and policy makers have used traditional summer school programs to help reduce the amount of summer loss however it was concluded that it worked well for middle income students but not as well for lower income students but they aren't sure whether it's because the programs found used by the middle income students were of higher quality or if the interaction between school and home worked better together for this group versus the lower income students.

For reading programs used over the summer, the programs which benefitted students most are the programs whose instructional strategies are identified as best practices by a group such as the National Reading Panel which caused the most growth in reading. Furthermore, research also suggests that students  who have the most gain are the ones who attend consistently, and spend time on the academic tasks.  It was also found that when schools sent texts and messages home to parents, students did better.  The messages included information on resources available to students, activities to do with the children, and information on learning activities being done at school.

Although they may not have looked at math programs, it seems that the came criteria of instructional strategies being classified as best practices combined with consistent attendance, and students who spend time on academic tasks could easily be applied to summer math programs since summer learning loss occurs with both reading and math.

It is important for school districts to address summer learning loss, especially since students have had to struggle with interruptions in learning due to COVID. This is so that the gaps in learning are not as great, and students don't lose what they accomplished over the previous year.  When creating a program, use an evidence based program, include hands on based or recreational activities in addition to the academic content, make sure the program chosen includes enough time to work on each task and encourages consistent attendance, while hiring effective teachers.  

For most districts, summer school is probably done and over with but the information can be used for next summer.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.  Have a good weekend.