To make up for pandemic-related learning losses, many U.S. public school districts have increased enrollment in their summer school programs. We assess summer school as a strategy for COVID-19 learning recovery by tracking the academic progress of students who attended summer school in 2022 across eight districts serving 400,000 students. Based on…

Evidence that student learning declines or stagnates during summers has motivated an interest in programs providing intensive summer instruction. However, existing literature suggests that such programs have modest effects on achievement and no impact on measures of engagement in school. In this quasi-experimental study, we present evidence on the…

Adolescents who struggle with reading and literacy face significant challenges in academic and future success. This Spotlight focuses on effective interventions to address learning gaps and support literacy development. From optimizing tutoring to emphasizing the importance of reading support classes, these articles offer valuable perspectives.…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefit accrued to fifth-grade students who participated in a summer school accelerated instruction program utilizing accelerated instructional practices in a Texas school district. The secondary intent was to determine the program's effect on student regression or retention as measured by Measures of…

"If your horse is dead, dismount," is Dakota tribal wisdom that reminds us to do the most obvious thing. In this paper, we describe how middle school students in summer school finally challenged us to 'dismount' from our traditional remedial reading instruction. In our new approach, middle schoolers chose topics for study and shared what…

The evidence that student learning declines sharply (or stagnates) during the summer has motivated a substantial interest in programs that provide intensive academic instruction during the summer. However, the existing literature suggests that such programs, which typically focus on just one or two subjects, have modest effects on students'…

Background: Summer camps can promote positive youth development. Unfortunately, racial, ethnic, and economic disparities contribute to inequities in camp participation and related research on marginalized youth. Consequently, it is not clear what types of camping programs work best for marginalized youth. Purpose: To conduct a quasi-experimental…

The decline of academic achievement during summer is well documented and can result in a one-month loss of skills acquired during the school year. Summer slide can further contribute to a widening gap between low and high achieving readers. This instrumental case study explored a summer class for adolescent readers labeled as struggling.…

Research on collaborative learning has focused on its potential to foster successful problem solving. Less attention, though, has been given to issues of equity. In this article, we investigate how inequity can become amplified and attenuated within collaborative learning through small interactional moves that accumulate to produce broader…

This report examines the implementation of the Securing Opportunities for Academic Recovery (SOAR) program that operated during the summer of 2020 at 31 schools. The program was designed to mitigate academic deficits that resulted from the shutdown of schools due to the Coronavirus pandemic. SOAR was implemented in two phases: Recovery and Regain.…

This study compared the summer learning rates of students who attended Houston Independent School District (HISD) 2016 summer school to similar students who did not attend, for both promoted and retained students. For students between 1st and 2nd grade and those between 2nd and 3rd grade, summer learning rates were faster for both promoted and…

In this meta-analysis, I have reviewed published and unpublished research on single-track, year-round education's effect on science and social studies achievement, 2001-2016. Of 30 studies that met inclusion criteria and had data from which an effect size estimate could be calculated, 7 reported science outcomes (18 effect size estimates) or…

This study examined how the MCPS summer programs alleviated learning disruption and contributed to students' recovery in mathematics, literacy, and socioemotional learning skills. This report examines the impact of the 2021 summer programs on students' mathematics and literacy skills using pretests and posttests for the summer program, fall and…

In this study, we investigated the effects of choice of writing prompt on the number of story elements included in written narratives. The investigation took place in a residential facility for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Participants included six female students in a mixed-grade-level course (students had just completed…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District Fall 2017 student enrollment and academic performance outcomes for students who attended 2017 summer programs supported with federal Title I funds.