Worried about Summer Slide?
If you’re a parent, you’ve probably heard of Summer Slide, the idea that kids forget what they’ve learned while they’re on summer break. The idea of Summer Slide has been around for decades. Research from the 1980s suggested that kids lose up to 2-3 months of reading skills during the summer, which definitely sounds like something we should worry about.
But before you sign your kids up for summer classes, let’s take a look at where the idea of Summer Slide came from, and if it’s something we need to keep on our list of things to worry about. That list is long enough already, so let’s put Summer Slide up for review.
Paul T. von Hippel, associate professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, did a deep dive into the research and what he found challenges our understanding of Summer Slide. In an article written in 2019, he states, “I’m no longer sure that the average child loses months of skills each year, and I doubt that summer learning loss contributes much to the achievement gap in each grade.” So, what exactly did von Hippel find?
One of the things he did was take a close look at the original study that first suggested the idea of summer learning loss. This study was conducted in 1982 on public school children in Baltimore City. Once the kids were tested, researchers scored the tests to determine the results. They noticed two things. First, the results showed a gap between the scores of kids in higher-poverty schools and other schools. This became known as the achievement gap. Second, it showed that this gap widened significantly during the summer months. It looked obvious that kids were losing a lot of learning during the summer break. The name Summer Slide caught on as a way to explain the loss of learning, and soon parents were trying to find ways to keep their kids from becoming victims of the slide.
But the story doesn’t end there. Other studies, done later than 1982, didn’t show any significant summer learning loss. What was going on? Why the difference between the results of the original Baltimore study and the more recent studies? According to von Hippel, one reason for the discrepancy in the results has to do with how the test results were scored. In the 1980s, when the original study was conducted, scoring methods used something called Thurstone scaling, which was developed in 1925. Later, when tests were scored using a more sophisticated computer method, the results looked different. The widening of the achievement gap during the summer months, which the first study showed, disappeared from the results. So, the whole notion of Summer Slide might never have happened if the original tests were scored using a more modern method of scoring.
As time went on, more research was done on summer learning, some based on academic test scores, and some based on child development. These studies showed a wide variety of results, with some kids losing some learning, some kids gaining, and some kids staying the same. So, what do we make of this mixed bag of results? No one is sure. Maybe it’s because all kids are different.
It’s clear we still have a lot of learn about summer learning. One day, new research will hopefully answer all the questions we still have and explain all the mixed results, but in the meantime, let’s focus on a couple of things that we know for sure:
First, kids don’t stop learning in the summer, they just learn more slowly. It doesn’t matter if a kid is a high achiever or low achiever, their learning slows down. What this means is most kids aren’t experiencing Summer Slide, they’re experiencing Summer Slow Down. But progress is still progress, even when it’s slow.
Second, your kids are going to learn more from high quality experiences in the summer than they are from practicing academic skills. Why? Because there’s more to learning than just academics. Physical exercise, exploring parks and beaches, having conversations that increase vocabulary – it all contributes to growth, which shapes learning. Here’s my list of high-quality summer experiences: running around barefoot in the grass, swimming in the local pool or lake, bike rides, camping, blowing bubbles, going for evening walks, reading for fun, playing card games at night, exploring nature, doing some crafts, and having conversations. Your list might look different, depending on where you live, what your family enjoys doing, and the resources you have available. Whatever your choice of quality experiences, they will shape your child’s learning more effectively than a bunch of worksheets ever could.
But what if your child is behind in their learning? Summer might provide the perfect opportunity for them to do some catching up. Think of the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. When the hare took a break, the tortoise kept going. If your kid is the tortoise, it might be wise to keep going. That doesn’t mean abandon a laid-back summer full of rich, enjoyable experiences, but a weekly tutoring class that focuses on your child’s individual needs, combined with lots of high-quality unstructured activities could be just what your child needs to help them gain a bit of ground.
The research on Summer Slide continues, but from what we know so far, we can probably take it off our list of things to worry about. We all want our kids to do well in school, and what better way to do that than by leaning into Summer Slowdown mode and enjoying all the experiences that summer has to offer. To make the most of summer learning, sprinkle in some reading, have lots of conversations with your kids, and if your child is a bit behind, add a heaping scoop of structured learning to help them gain a bit of ground.
Sounds like a recipe for a perfect summer of slow and steady growth!
Read Paul T. von Hippel’s full article here. Is Summer Learning Loss Real? - Education Next
Happy Summer!
Check back soon for a guide that can help you make the most of summer with lots of ideas for high quality, low stress activities that will keep your kids engaged and learning!
