Tips and Topics for Parents

Summer Slide According to a study from the University of Missouri, during the summer break many students forget some of what they have learned throughout the school year. In fact, many lose “over two and one-half months of grade level equivalency in mathematics,” says Fran Chamberlain of the Developmental Studies Center. The following facts, from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Summer Learning illustrate vividly the extent of the problem:

All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer.  Research 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 summer vacation (Cooper, 1996).

On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months.   Studies reveal that the greatest areas of summer loss for all students, regardless of socio-economic status, are in factual or procedural knowledge (Cooper, 1996).

Low-income children and youth experience greater summer learning losses than their higher income peers.   On average, middle-income students experience slight gains in reading performance over the summer months.  Low-income students experience an average summer learning loss in reading achievement of over two months (Cooper, 1996).

Summer learning loss contributes to the achievement gap in reading performance between lower and higher income children and youth.  Research demonstrates that while student achievement for both middle and lower-income students improves at similar rates during the school year, low-income students experience cumulative summer learning losses over the elementary school grades (Alexander & Entwisle, 1996).

Large numbers of students who qualify for federally subsidized meals do not have the same level of access to nutritious meals during the summer as they do during the school year.  Only one in five (21.1 per 100) of the 15.3 million children who receive free or reduced priced school lunches on a typical day during the regular school year participate in federal nutrition programs during the summer (Food Research and Action Center, 2002).        
Source: The Johns Hopkins University's Center for Summer Learning