When the summer vacation finally comes, both the children and the teachers will breathe a sigh of relief. After months of hard work, everyone should have some time to relax. But what are the drawbacks that can completely avoid studying for two or three months? Some researchers say this timeline results in substantial learning losses, called summer slides. How worried should parents and teachers be about the negative effects of long-term leave? Here’s the summer slide statistics say how parents can help their children make the most of the summer.
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Summer Reading and Math Ideas
Remind your students that they can continue reading and doing math in the summer to avoid summer slideshows! Perfect for sending home with students on the last day of school.
What is a summer slide?
Ask any elementary school teacher and they will tell you that the first few weeks of school are more about rebirth than covering new materials. A few months after class, the kids had to learn how to sit down and focus on their studies again. But not only that, but it seems that students often forget a large part of what they learned last year, while teachers spend a year opening week to attract children to what they should have known.
It is no surprise that this concept of summer learning loss has been a known phenomenon for years. After all, even adults, unless they use knowledge every day, they cannot recall everything they have learned in a few months. But in the 1980s and 1990s, researchers began to study concepts more thoroughly. They developed the term “Summer Slide” and urged families and educators to take it seriously.
Summer slide statistics and research
Like many educational topics, there are debates about summer slides. While anecdotal evidence seems to support the idea, scientific research (especially in recent years) calls for some long-standing beliefs to question. So, are summer slides real? This is what some research says.
A major study in 1996 examined the achievement test results after the summer vacation. They fuse the results of 39 different studies and found that “summer losses are equivalent to one month on the grade equivalent scale, or one-tenth of the standard deviation from the spring test score.” The study shows that the losses are the most severe in mathematics and spelling. The researchers also found that the losses increased exponentially at the senior level.
A recent study found that students in grades 1 to 8 lost 17 to 34% of their previous year’s study during the summer vacation. It also shows that children who fall behind a summer may increase the gap over time.
The researchers also explored the differences in summer slides between various races, races and income groups. Interestingly, a 2019 study found that in the summer, the achievement gap between white and black students actually narrowed. In other words, black students in this study had less academic skills than white peers during the summer.
What are the objections?
Given decades of research supporting the idea of summer slides, it is no surprise that Paul T. von Hippel’s 2019 article “Is the Loss of Summer Learning Real?”, which caused a huge wave. Von Hippel’s policy professor at the University of Texas at Austin said he “lost confidence” in the idea.
When Von Hippel reviewed some of the most groundbreaking studies of learning losses in the summer of the 1980s, he found some serious problems related to how the achievement test was written at the time. More importantly, he was unable to replicate the results of this older study using today’s modern exams.
His research also shows that most achievement gaps already exist before the age of 5. This means that by the time the kids enter kindergarten, they are already trapped in the achievement group, and they may stay in the entire school year. As Von Hippel points out, this means that studies that show that the widening gap in learning loss over the years are unlikely to be correct.
How should parents watch summer slides?
So, where do all this leave parents and families? The answer is that we are not completely sure. What we know is that when children return to school in the fall, at least some of them suffer very significant learning losses (see below). Although the term “summer slide” is usually only used for scholars, teachers can tell you that in the summer, children also lose many other skills.
As an adult, consider how it feels like when you are off for a week or two after get off work. The first day is usually cruel, right? Not only do you have to catch up with a lot of work, but your body is not used to the schedule. When you really would rather do something else, your mind is not used to focusing on one task.
Students have the same problem, multiplied by months away from school, not just a week or so. Potential summer learning losses can be exacerbated by the loss of learning skills and other key behaviors. Children often learn how to learn how to learn at first.
So whether you see summer slides as a recognized fact or there is some healthy skepticism, it is still valuable to have some structural and educational activities for every child’s summer vacation. (Finish the top ideas below.)
Who is most affected by summer learning losses?
Currently, most studies support the idea of most students losing their studies in the summer. Perhaps more importantly, it highlights some groups of summer slides that suffer from summer slides at a higher rate.
- Early Learners: The key to early primary school, especially potential summer learning losses. As students are learning important skills in reading and math, any backward slideshow can cause problems when the child returns to school.
- Low-income families: according to The New York Times“While the achievement gap between white and black students has narrowed significantly over the past few decades, the gap between rich and poor students has increased significantly over the same period.” These families often do not have the same time and resources to dedicate their children outside of school, especially in the summer.
Whether you are an educator, whether you are a summer school educator or a parent who convinces you that it is worth helping your child fight potential learning losses in the summer, try these free tips and tools.
Read, read, read – anything
You’ve heard it before, and we’ll say it again: All readings are great readings. Summer is the perfect time for kids to read what they like (yes, even comic books and those ubiquitous Captain books). Summer reading should have two goals: improve children’s literacy and develop a love for reading for a lifetime.
Spend 20 to 30 minutes per week 3 to 5 structured educational activities
Summer should indeed be about relaxation, but every day or two of the structured learning doesn’t stand out from the fun. Make some age-appropriate reading and math workbook investments, or sign up for your kids to get an online learning program so they can work at their own pace. Write these activities into your schedule along with minor league games and family picnics and keep the kids responsible for completing them.
Do a lot of hands-on creative learning
Even if they don’t focus directly on math or reading skills, children will benefit from hands-on creative activities. Do some crafts, learn to draw, write stories, build new things – any of these activities can keep the child learning patterns throughout the summer.
Family study
Many families cherish summer because they have the opportunity to spend more time together after the busy days of the school year. When you plan for summer fun, engage in some educational ideas. Buy and play educational games, set up family book clubs, or challenge kids to their weekly trivia nights.
Inspire travel
Planning a family vacation? Try to work in some learning opportunities, such as museum visits or historical sites. These don’t necessarily need to be the focus of your trip, but rather emphasize learning to make your kids’ brains active while learning and remind them that not all education is boring.
Studying outside
Structured learning is good, but so is the game of education! Children often want to go outdoors in the summer, so take part in your study activities as well. Check out these reviews for ideas.
Make screen time valuable
Rather than fighting with screen time, try it. Show kids the benefits of reading e-books (especially the ability to easily find words or ideas they don’t understand). Bring them to educational but really fun games. Even encouraging them to learn to use new features on their devices (e.g., camera settings) can trigger their brains to stay active.
Infiltrate some educational toys
We don’t just mean something sold as education (although we share our favorites below). Instead, look for ways to encourage learning through the play styles children like. For example, the architectural LEGO set helps with counting, good motor skills, following directions, and many other concepts. Plus, many sets today offer learning opportunities through topics such as space travel or dinosaurs. You might be surprised at what kids’ favorite toys can teach them!
Participate in summer camp
Your local libraries, museums, children’s centers, theaters, and more may all offer summer camps for kids. Many of them also offer scholarship opportunities, so don’t think you can’t afford these activities.
Use children’s interests
Think about what your child likes to do and find ways to expand. Are they sports fans? Dig deep into various statistics for a specific exercise without even realizing that they are practicing math skills. Do they like to dress up and pretend? Ask them to write scripts and then execute scripts. Video game fanatic? Maybe they want to learn how to code their own. When you connect your learning to something that interests your child, you will take important steps to fight summer slides.
Get your free summer reading and math creative printables!
Print and delete these fund handouts to remind your students to continue reading and math during the summer.
