Summer Learning Loss
Summer learning loss has been defined as the loss in academic skills and knowledge over the course of the summer vacation. Although we expect to lose an edge when we don’t practice, summer learning loss is much greater for youth in low-income groups than it is for their middle-class peers. In 1996 a study by Cooper found that on average, students lose approximately 2.6 months in the area of mathematical computation during the summer, increasing the achievement gap. Cooper also found that low-income children lost over 2 months in reading achievement in this same time period. The Summer learning loss is profound enough that this year Michelle Obama is on board supporting a call to service with the theme, “United We Serve: Let’s Read Let’s Move”. The First Lady stated that summer is the perfect time to get kids up and exercising the body while they read and exercise the mind.
In a June 15, 2009 article in the Washington Post, staff writer Valerie Strauss stated that the “summer brain drain” is not felt equally across all children. She quotes experts from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Virginia on what happens during the summer. Here is what the article highlighted:
“Most students—regardless of family income or background—lost 2 to 2 ½ months of the math computational skills that they learned during the school year.
Students from low-income homes lost two to three months in reading skills learned in the previous school year.
Middle-class students make slight gains in reading achievement as measured on standardized test. “[1]
So what does this mean for after-school programs? It means that we need to find a way to support and encourage summer learning. We need to look at all options and work closely within a school district to determine how funds may be reallocated to the summer months. Learning in the summer doesn’t need to look like the school day. You could have a lyrics class to promote reading, an engineering class with robots to build to encourage interest and experience in math and science, a poetry class to offer opportunities for youth to write, and so on. You can operate with a great theme such as “Night in the Museum”, “Back to the Future”, or “National Treasure”. It’s important that you check in with the students to see what interests them.
We need to work intentionally to ensure that learning levels are, at a minimum, maintained, and when possible, increased during the summer. We will never close the achievement gap in this country by moving a few months forward only to slide back several months in the summer. Think it through. It is not too early to begin planning for summer, 2011.
[1] Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com June 15, 2009
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