“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
-Psalms 119:105
“We cannot always build the future of our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
What were you summers like growing up as a kid? For me, my summers were filled with extended play opportunities and the chance to be independent and self-guided. In the summer, I would determine what I would do each day; which usually included: watching cartoons, playing with friends, visiting relatives, traveling to near-by parks, and of course, vacation bible school. My summer break did not include attending any special summer camps or going on elaborate vacations. It was simply a time to chill and have fun.
However, research spanning over 100 years state that non-stimulating summer vacations can partially erase academic gains that occurred during the school year. This is commonly referred to as “summer learning loss.”
All youth experience some summer learning loss, but some more than others. Lower income youth typically experience greater summer learning loss then their higher income counterparts. The Center for Summer Learning research indicates that:
“Two-thirds of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college (Alexander et al, 2007).”
For years, we have read studies that state the importance of early childhood education. There has been significant support behind early childhood education centers to include the creation of Head Start. The Head Start program provided early learning opportunities for pre-school aged low-income children. The goal was to reduce the academic gap that exists between lower and higher income children. According to the research, early academic gap only accounts for a third of the academic gap that is present at 9th grade. The other two-thirds can be linked to the accumulated affects of summer learning loss during elementary school.
What is interesting about summer learning research is that lower and higher income youth make similar gains during the school year, but there are stark differences when it comes to summer activities that build on school year learning. This would indirectly mean that school systems are doing an adequate job in educating our youth. If lower and higher income youth are making similar gains, then public instruction is essential working, right?
Many would say that our schools are failing because they fail to past standardized tests. This is a point in time data statistic that does not measure growth over time. If we look at growth over time, all of our youth are progressing during the school year. What is not overtly stated but implied, is that we expect the schools to close the achievement gap that is present prior to the start of school and that occurs over the summer time. This is not a fair expectation of our schools, especially since they are working with the same resources and an antiquated agrarian school calendar.
Unfortunately, we have engaged in the wrong discussions. We have focused most of our energy on passing tests as a measure of learning. Problem solving, critical thinking and reasoning skills are not often captured on standardized test. We have also focused on more “instruction” time. Instruction has not been proven to be the best mode of teaching new concepts. Experiential learning model have been highlighted as more effective ways to accomplish learning. We have also engaged in discussions and movements that have not added additional days for learning, but extended the school calendar to year round with the same number of school days.
Still we have policy leaders that advocate “achievement should be constant” across all socio-economic groups, but fail the change any other variable. Time devoted to learning has not changed. Methods of teaching have not changed. The way in which we view learning and achievement has not changed. So, why are we expecting our student outcomes to change?
The accumulated affect of summer learning loss is astonishing and there should be more attention devoted to rethinking summer learning opportunities. As a nation, we can not afford to ignore how we view summer vacation. This time is a failed opportunity to keep our youth on track to graduating from college.
Consider the Following:
Everyone
Write a Congressional letter to support the Summer Term Education Program for Upward Performance (STEP UP) Act. STEP UP will create the first federal program to exclusively target the summer months as a strategy to close the achievement gap.
State Department of Education
Evaluate current summer programs and create an Office of Summer Learning to support local summer learning efforts by school, faith, and community based organizations. Summer learning could include remediation and/or enrichment for all levels of academic performance.
School Systems
Develop community-based partnerships to develop fun, non-traditional learning opportunities for parents. Many parents find it difficult to find quality summer programs to enroll their children. The school should take a leadership role in connecting parents to quality programs or partnering with community organizations to offer a school-based program filled that is notably different from traditional school.
Summer Programs
Be intentionally about the type of academic supports your program would like to offer to parents and their kids. Seek methods to measure the academic gains that students achieve during the summer. Develop partnerships with schools to assist with the academic portion of your program. Hire teachers to help facilitate non-traditional academic lessons during the summer months.
Higher Education Institutions
Create Centers for Summer Learning (CSL) at every college/university that has a School of Education. CSL can host summer learning programs on campus, provide support to program facilitators, help identify curriculums and administer student evaluations while connecting student teachers to non-traditional summer learning programs.
Parents
Demand that thoughtful consideration went into planning summer learning opportunities by summer programs in which your children attend.
For more information, please visit: www.summerlearning.org
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