Three Ways to Avoid Summer Learning Loss

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When the school year ends, it can be difficult to know who is more excited about summer vacation: the teachers or the students. While it can be easy for both camps to lose their routine during summer vacation, it is important that students don't get out of the habit of learning, so they don't suffer learning loss.

TO study 2020 shows that the average student loses between 17 and 34 percent of their learning gains during summer vacation, and this is a phenomenon that has been studied since the early 20th century. While no child wants to study on vacation, there are fun and creative ways to encourage students (and their parents) to practice the skills they learned without sitting down to study.

keep them reading

Students in grades 3-5 often miss a 20 percent average of the reading progress they made during the previous year, so it is vital that they choose to continue reading even when school is out. When students read books they like and are interested in over summer vacation, they develop stronger skills and feel more confident and motivated.

Many teachers and parents turn to reading programs that use research-based instruction (such as those at Reading Development Institute), which have been shown to be effective in developing summer reading skills. These programs also encourage students to practice the age-appropriate skills they learned in school so they are not left behind when classes resume in the fall. Additionally, while this is not always the case at school, summer reading can be simply for pleasure; If students find books that they like and are interested in, they will be more willing to practice their reading skills because they will like what they are reading.

Enroll them in summer programs

Embrace technology

While many parents do everything they can to keep their children from spending all summer on their computers, tablets, or phones, games and apps can be a powerful tool in combating learning loss. Platforms like Graphic graph encourage readers to maintain a reading streak (read a certain number of pages in a day or books in a week), apps like Duolingo rewards students for practicing a new language every day, and hundreds of free mobile games encourage math, language arts, and science skills while being so fun, students won't realize they're actually learning .

For older students, consider enrolling them in an online course that trains them in a skill such as graphic or web design. Self-paced courses often allow teen students to learn at their own pace while also preparing them with applicable skills they could leverage in classes, extracurricular activities, or even in their future workplace.

The fight against summer learning loss begins the moment school ends. By encouraging students to continue reading, enrolling them in educational and enriching summer programs, and embracing technology and all its continuous learning opportunities, both parents and teachers will be rewarded with lower learning loss rates even after have your students return to the classroom.