Christopher Jencks is the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Here he comments that Downey and Condron (2016) (DC) argue that the sociology of education suffers from a one-sided view of schools' contribution to inequality. He agrees that most sociologists who study what goes on inside schools tend to portray…

Summer school makes an unlikely candidate for a bright spot in education reform during these difficult economic times. It occupies a long-held negative place in U.S. culture, prompting dread in the hearts of many former and current students. Summer school conjures up images of sitting in hot classrooms and receiving remedial instruction while…

An urban school district and a university developed a curriculum emphasizing academic language for its English language learners (ELL) students. The partnership began when the district's elementary ESL coordinator approached three university faculty for support in developing a three-year summer school curriculum emphasizing mathematics and science…

The Washington, D.C. school system has a long history of poor academic achievement; however, over the past decade, the District of Columbia has made strides in offering families greater choice about which schools their children attend, thanks to a strong charter school law and the federally funded D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. District…

This paper offers a critique of existing models of continuing professional development (CPD) courses for science teachers in the light of recent thinking about the nature of the subject (in particular, the arguments associated with "post-normal science") and the challenges presented by the teaching of controversial socio-scientific…

Erin Rasmussen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Idaho State University where she teaches learning, behavioral pharmacology, senior seminar, and introductory psychology. She received her MS and PhD in experimental psychology (with a minor in behavioral pharmacology and toxicology) from Auburn University. She taught at…

Reviews the literature on the effects of summer programs, and offers a reinterpretation of the role of summer learning in cognitive development. (PCB)

The importance of summer instruction for children from lower socioeconomic strata (SES) is emphasized by research which shows that the gap in achievement levels between higher SES children and lower SES children that is evident during the regular school year becomes greater during the summer. An examination of summer school programs in Austin,…

This paper considers issues related to determining which students should attend summer school to bring their achievement up to standard. One of the first problems in selecting students who must attend summer school is determining the level of achievement students must meet. Determining the types of assessment that should be used, and possibly…

A teacher recounts a summer school program for 9 students (ages 9-16), all with hearing loss and several with other learning problems. Stressed is the role of the summer program in maintaining academic skills. Specific activities around the theme of "rivers" are detailed. (DB)

The parent of a trainable mentally retarded adolescent describes his need for a summer school program and the successful efforts of organized parents to obtain summer educational services. (DB)

Taking two summer school courses, an English teacher reverses classroom roles and rediscovers student perspectives to instruction in poetry and composition. (RL)

Even in early grades, a large gap in skills exists between students from economically advantaged and disadvantaged families. Evidence suggests that a substantial share of this skills gap emerges during the summer months, when school is not in session. Children from disadvantaged families experience greater losses in skills during summer vacations…

The paper offers a framework for examining the organization and governance of summer sessions that best support the college or university's institutional mission of teaching. Discussion centers on issues of legitimacy and integrity that arise when summer sessions deviate from the primary responsibility of meeting the academic needs of students.…

This policy brief reviews research on the effectiveness of summer-school programs. It begins with a short history of the current school calendar, including how 19th century agrarian life required children to stay home during the summer to attend to crops or livestock. Next, a meta-analysis of 13 studies brings to light the effects long summer…