Summer Learning Loss - Know the Facts

As we start the new school year, we need to be reminded that summer learning loss is real.  According to the National Summer Learning Association,

• All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer (White, 1906; Heyns, 1978; Entwisle & Alexander 1992; Cooper, 1996; Downey et al, 2004). 
• Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income students also lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains (Cooper, 1996). 
• More than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college (Alexander et al, 2007). 
• Children lose more than academic knowledge over the summer. Most children—particularly children at high risk of obesity—gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school during summer break (Von Hippel et al, 2007). 
• Parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure that their children have productive things to do (Duffett et al, 2004).

This research is critical in how teachers start the year off.  We are all anxious to get into the curriculum and standards of the grade level we are teaching, but don't forget to add in a quick review of the previous years material.  Get kids back to where they were at the end of last year, and then move forward.  It will make for a much easier transition to the current curriculum.

Information taken from http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=know_the_facts