The Importance of Summer Learning

It shouldn’t surprise us that children forget over the summer some of the knowledge that they’ve learned the previous school year. What’s disturbing is how much they forget and how it can set them back academically. These are some of the key findings of a study by the National Summer Learning Association:

• On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills during the summer months.

• 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.

• Nearly all students experience learning losses over the summer if they do not engage in learning opportunities.

With upwards of 36,000 teachers being laid off across the state this summer and other drastic cuts to public schools and universities, it is imperative for us to give children every opportunity to keep their young minds engaged in some sort of learning over the summer.