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"Summer school" has traditionally been the domain of students making-up for a class failed between September and June. A 2001 survey of the 100 largest U.S. school districts, all who offered summer programs, found that over 90% were remedial in purpose. But increasingly educators and policymakers understand that summer learning programs are best used to foreclose on the learning loss that occurs during summer days. Most kids from all backgrounds learn at about the same rate during the regular school year but disadvantaged students tend to fall behind during the summer because of a lack of learning opportunities in the home and community. While middle-income students usually make some gain in reading skills over the summer, students from low-income families average a two-month loss of skills. And math skills for this same group may drop by more than 2.5 months during the summer. Most disturbing is a recent evaluation of the reading progress of Baltimore students from 1st grade into adulthood, which revealed that two-thirds of the reading achievement gap between children from low- and high- SES families is due to cumulative summer learning loss. For this group of 325 students the pace of reading gains during the school year was equivalent but, by 5th grade, high SES children cumulatively gained an average of 47 points on reading scores over summers, while low SES children cumulatively lost 2 points.
While the majority of states have summer learning policies (see below), research indicates not all programs are equally effective. An analysis of multiple studies of various summer learning programs indicates the following:
- Programs focused on remediation and those focused on acceleration of learning have equally positive impacts on children's knowledge and skills.
- Small group or individual instruction settings have the largest impact on outcomes.
- Parent involvement in programs increases student outcomes.
Ron Fairchild, Executive Director of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University believes model summer programs motivate young people to learn through a mix of engaging instruction, field trips and hands-on projects.
State Summer Learning Policies
| STATE |
PROFIENCY FOR READING |
FOR MATH AND SCIENCE |
TO MEET HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS |
FOR TARGETED STUDENTS, SCHOOLS OR DISTRICTS |
| ALABAMA |
|
|
|
X |
| ALASKA |
|
|
|
X |
| ARKANSAS |
|
|
|
X |
| CALIFORNIA |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| COLORADO |
X |
X |
|
|
| CONNECTICUT |
X |
|
X |
X |
| DELAWARE |
|
X |
|
X |
| FLORIDA |
X |
|
X |
|
| GEORGIA |
ø |
ø |
|
|
| IDAHO |
X |
|
|
|
| ILLINOIS |
|
X |
|
|
| INDIANA |
|
|
X |
|
| IOWA |
X |
|
|
|
| KANSAS |
X |
|
|
|
| KENTUCKY |
|
X |
|
|
| LOUISIANA |
|
X |
|
|
| MASSACHUSETTS |
|
X |
X |
X |
| MINNESOTA |
X |
X |
|
|
| MISSOURI |
X |
|
|
X |
| NEBRASKA |
|
* |
|
X |
| NEVADA |
|
X |
|
|
| NEW JERSEY |
|
* |
X |
|
| NEW MEXICO |
|
|
|
X |
| NEW YORK |
|
* |
X |
X |
| OHIO |
X |
|
|
|
| OKLAHOMA |
X |
|
|
X |
| PENNSYLVANIA |
|
X |
|
|
| SOUTH CAROLINA |
|
* |
X |
|
| TENNESSEE |
|
X |
|
X |
| TEXAS |
|
X |
X |
|
| VERMONT |
|
X |
|
|
| VIRGINIA |
|
X |
|
|
| WASHINGTON |
|
|
|
X |
| WEST VIRGINIA |
X |
* |
|
|
| WYOMING |
|
* |
|
|
* - MATH ONLY
ø- ALL ACADEMIC SUBJECTS.
Source: "State Notes," Education Council of the States, March 2006
Federal Action
The  Summer Term Education Programs for Upward Performance (STEP UP)
Act has been introduced in Congress and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. This legislation would create a grant program for states to support summer learning programs targeted to children from low-income families. The bill's sponsors Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Barak Obama (D-IL).
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