Source: [3pLearning by Mark Ankucic]
Understanding Summer learning loss
Summer learning loss – or the summer slide – is an educational phenomenon where students lose some of the knowledge, skills and ability they acquired over the school year.
Besides the initial problem breaking the momentum of continual learning – and some lost time – there are a few knock-on effects to consider:
- Students’ scores are lower when they return to school
- Teachers have to spend time re-teaching and retreading subjects, theory and practice before they can move on
- The effort of encouraging students and parents to get involved with learning over the Summer vacation
Summer Learning Loss Statistics
- Between 27-50% of the yearly progress made in mathematics learning is lost (NWEA)
- 9/10 teachers spend almost a month re-teaching lessons from the previous year (NSLA)
- Reteaching can cost more than $1500 per student each year (ASCD)
The Foundational Study
The Effect of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review is a meta-analysis of 39 studies into lost progress over the holiday period.
