Summer Learning Facts and Figures

Jun 26, 2008 • Early Learning, High School, Middle School

Summer Camps to keep students on track

So, the final bell of the school year has rung; even though the classroom is closed for the season, it doesn’t mean that a child’s potential to learn has stopped. In fact, summer is a critical time for learning. Without some measure of formal education, kids can experience a significant drop in their learning momentum that can affect how they perform next year.

Research into the study of summer learning shows some pretty surprising findings. Here are The Facts that you need to know—

• All students experience SUMMER LEARNING LOSSES when they do not engage in educational activities in the summer.
• On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency in mathematical computational skills during the summer months.
• 56% of students want to be involved in a summer program that “helps kids keep up with summer schoolwork or prepare for the next grade.”
• Research shows that teachers typically spend between four-six weeks re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer.
• Since 1996, researchers have studied the effect of summer break on student learning. A common finding across these studies is that students generally score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer.
• Research demonstrates that all students experience significant learning losses in procedural and factual knowledge during the summer months.

How the summer break can impact your child’s learning: some numbers:

• 2.6—the numbers of months that it can take to get back into the swing of learning in the fall
• 60—the number of days that children spend not learning over the summer
• 6—the number of weeks that teachers have to spend reviewing material from last year

And two very important numbers to consider when planning your children’s summer schedule:

• 2-3—the number of hours per week of supplemental education needed to prevent summer education losses and keep your child on track for education success.

With these very important numbers in mind, doesn’t it make sense to include learning in your child’s summer? Summer camps at Oxford Learning make it easy. Find a location near you and beat summer learning losses for good.