What You Need to Know About the Summer Slide

If you haven’t already seen the catch phrase everywhere lately, you soon will.  From the headlines and pin titles, it appears people are working to avoid “summer slide” like it was the next pandemic.  So what are the facts about the summer slide and what’s the best approach for you and your school age kids?

Understanding the Slide

From the surface, the summer slide refers to the (somewhat obvious) finding that over summer vacation, kids tend to lose a little (or a lot) of the academic gains they make during the school year.  By some measures, they may lose up to 3 months worth of academic loss.  It stands to reason, that if you’re not using your skills you’ll lose them…. or at least dull them.

But there’s more at play in the research than meets the eye.  Children from low-income backgrounds tend to lose more than kids from middle and high income homes.  It’s assumed that this is because parents with more means and/or more education are more able to provide enriching experiences in the summer months.  This would be disconcerting on its own, but research further suggests that these losses are cumulative — kids don’t often catch back up to their peers who didn’t lose as much.

So if a child suffers a three month loss over the summer, then in three years he’d be a full academic year behind his peers who simply maintained over the summers.  This compounding effect is tragic when we consider the achievement gap between kids from different socio-economic backgrounds.  If you believe, like Horace Mann, that education is the great equalizer, the fact that the poorest among us stand to lose the most educational ground over summer should be troubling.

According to research, the summer slide seems to take its toll on different subjects or skills to different degrees.  According to Duke University professor, Harris Cooper, the slide is more precipitous for math skills and spelling.  This may be for two reasons.  One, parents are fairly aware of the need to support reading, and it’s one they generally feel quite comfortable supporting and encouraging, while math and spelling may feel less natural and even intimidating.  In many homes, literacy is integrated into the natural flow of the day, with read-alouds and trips to the library and even dinner time conversations.  This however, points again to the disturbing divide between low and high income families as children in lowest income homes hear an average of 600 words per hour, while in that same time children in high income homes have heard 2100 words.

The second reason may because subjects like math and spelling are more procedural and rely on rapid memory skills.  These are skills that are sharpened by repetition and dulled when they go unused for long, particularly when the skills are still new.

Stopping the Slide

Since the summer slide does not effect all children equally, it’s difficult to create a one-size-fits-all solution.  (Welcome to the paradox of standardized education.)  I’ll address several different approaches here, but choosing the approach that’s best for each child is left to the discernment of those who keep them in their stewardship.

Change in School Structure

Summer school is a common response to the summer slide, and for many children, the right summer school program may be the best approach.  (Small, enriching, individualized programs with family involvement do best.)   Some schools are able to offer quality summer programs, but with tight funding, many programs are falling by the wayside.  Other schools have shifted to year-round academic calendars, though the results have been mixed.

Enrich

A school isn’t the only place that houses learning.  Creating a learning culture for your kids brings education along with you wherever the summer takes you.  Taking the time to soak in some of the natural sciences on a camping trip or walk on the beach, picking up some art awareness at the museum, or building literacy with a quality read-aloud shared with your kids all promote learning and stave off that summer slide.  Find games, outing, and activities that keep your kids thinking, reading, questioning, and talking.  It does make a difference!

Target

If you have specific concerns, you may need to zero in on specific ways to keep your kids sharp without wearing them out.  That may mean finding fun sight word games or engaging ways to practice writing or spelling.  It might mean finding a good supplemental program or just spending a little time doing focused practice.

And here’s where I make a confession.  I bought a workbook.  But I felt conflicted.  After flipping through several workbooks at the store (and hearing from a mom at my side who said her kids know they have to do 10 pages a day!) I decided to pass on the mega workbooks and alluring three book value sets, I settled on one.

Since math is one of the most vulnerable areas for decline over the summer, and one where the process simply requires practice to retain, I decided my school age boys could use a little bit of practice.  I found ONE workbook* that had some simple math computation practice along with some great games and puzzles that use the same skills in fun and meaningful ways.  I don’t require 10 pages a day.  In fact, until they ask to turn the TV on in the afternoon I often don’t bring it up at all.

For us, a little direct practice, coupled with some great books, a few creative writing opportunities, and those deceptively fun “worksheets” called Mad Libs* seem to be the right mix to go with a lot of biking, swimming, camping, talking, giggling, and just plain playing around that summer vacation is famous for.

How do you keep kids sharp over the summer?  Are you laid back, planned out, or somewhere in between?

 More resources:

Summer Learning Loss: The Problem and Some Solutions {Harris Cooper}

First Comprehensive Research on Summer Slide Released {Ed Week}

More Than a Hunch: Kids Lose Learning Over the Summer Months {NCSL}

Slowing the Summer Slide {ASCD}

*Affiliate links.  I have no affiliation with the company that makes the workbooks, but this is an affiliate link to Amazon for the workbook that I sincerely felt was a good match for my kids.