There is one large-scale, well-designed study that sheds light on effective summer learning programs: the RAND National Summer Learning Project, which was carried out from 2011 through 2014. The Hechinger Report on summer learning from 2020 clarifies a few things that are more important than ever to understand.
1. In-person instruction is essential (virtual learning, especially during the summer, does not seem to be effective).
2. Regular attendance is also essential. The in-person summer school sessions that the RAND project studied had a lot of attendance disruptions, even though they provided free transportation. The classes went from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that parents could work–but there are just a lot of other competing demands on time and attention during the summer. When you look at this study, the end results show that it wasn’t successful overall in helping struggling students make lasting gains–but when you separate out the students who regularly attended, something pretty amazing emerges: even though the program only devoted three morning hours to academic work and devoted the afternoon to play and summer-camp activities, it was really effective. The Hechinger Report says, “The learning gained during the five weeks of summer school matched the amount that kids typically learn during five weeks of a school year.” The program kept class sizes to 12, and that might be part of the success, but the really amazing thing to me is that “summer school — with only lessons in the morning — can be as effective as regular school”, which has a day that is twice as long.
This article describes California’s summer school effort this summer, focused on outdoor-education, fun, and social reconnecting as a first priority, with academic courses in the morning.
Some questions I’d love to see studied:
• Is the outdoor time/play time in the afternoon an essential part of the effective learning?
• How much does the class size matter?
• Would a summer program work even better with well-vetted community elders and volunteers co-staffing along with certificated teachers?
• During the traditional school year, can we shift more seat time to play/outdoor/lightly structured experiences within the school day and still make the same academic gains at the secondary level?
Ms. Crandell 