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Nellie Mae Education Foundation Beth M. Miller, Ph.D., MMRA June 20, 2007. The Learning Season. Summer learning loss drives the test-score gap between children from low income families and their peers Summer opportunities can make a real difference in children’s learning - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The Learning Season: The Untapped Power of Summer to Advance Student Achievement
Nellie Mae Education FoundationBeth M. Miller, Ph.D., MMRAJune 20, 2007
The Learning Season
• Summer learning loss drives the test-score gap
between children from low income families and their
peers
• Summer opportunities can make a real difference in
children’s learning
• If we care about educational equity, we need to take
summer opportunities seriously
The Test Score Achievement Gap:Beginning School Study
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
Fall 1 Spring 5
Scor
e
Low SES High SES
VERBAL CAT BY SEASON AND SES (Alexander, Entwisle, and Olson)
The Test Score Achievement Gap:Beginning School Study
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
Fall 1 Spring1
Fall 2 Spring2
Fall 3 Spring3
Fall 4 Spring4
Fall 5 Spring5
Scor
e
Low SES High SES
VERBAL CAT BY SEASON AND SES (Alexander, Entwisle, and Olson)
The Learning Season:Baltimore Beginning School Study
Followed from school entry to age 22 1/3 of differences in 9th grade Reading
Comprehension scores attributable to preschool differences, 2/3 to summer learning differences
Differences have major impact (separate from income, race, etc) on: High school placement (academic or non-academic
track) Dropping out Attending 4-year college
Why seasonal learning loss? The Resource Faucet Theory
adapted from Entwisle, Alexander, and Olson, 1997
The Learning Season:What does the research say?
Downey and colleagues• Learning gap for poor children grows much
faster in summer (K-1)
• Many schools are mis-categorized by annual testing regimens
• Schools less successful for African American students
The Learning Season:What does the research say?
Cooper and colleagues• Review of 39 studies, meta-analysis of 13
• All students lose skills in math (2.6 m)
• Low income students lose skills in reading, while middle income gain (lose 1.5 m compared to gain of 2.3 m)
The Learning Season:Summer vs. school year differences
Adapted from Downey, 2004
Non-school environ-ment
School environ-ment
The Learning Season:Brain Development
• All domains linked
• Summer learning = integrated learning
• Neural connections made through “hands-on experience”
• Brain needs time to reflect and “soak in” new information
• Background knowledge is key to learning
Income Gap in Summer Program Participation
Participation in Summer Activities (Condition of Education, 1998)
0
20
40
60
Low Income Middle Income High Income
Perc
ent
CRITICAL HOURS• Summer reading interventions
• Summer school, extended school year
• Summer camp
• Hybrid academic enrichment-youth
development programs
Research on “Hybrid” Summer Programs
Teach Baltimore• Serves over 2,000 youth using trained college
students in 7 week program
• Combines literacy with wide enrichment focus
• Random assignment of children on waiting list to summer program or “control” group
• Strong effects on test scores for children who attended for 3 years
Research on “Hybrid” Summer Programs
BELL Summer Program
• Random assignment study
• Children who attended BELL summer program
gained additional 1 month of reading skills
(instead of losing 3)
• Parents encouraged children to read more
The Learning Season:Recommendations
• Increase ACCESS and EFFECTIVENESS
• Rethink educational ACCOUNTABILITY
• RESEARCH the best ways to solve the “opportunity
gap”
The Learning Season: The Untapped Power of Summer to Advance Student Achievement
Nellie Mae Education FoundationBeth M. Miller, Ph.D., MMRAJune 20, 2007
