{"id":348371,"date":"2025-11-07T13:20:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T18:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/?p=348371"},"modified":"2025-11-07T13:20:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T18:20:03","slug":"how-to-beat-summer-learning-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/utilities\/internet\/how-to-beat-summer-learning-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"How to beat summer learning loss and find success in summer learning online"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summer vacation offers kids and families a chance to unwind and enjoy a much-needed break from the demands of school-time schedules and routines. But, as sweet as summertime is, there is also a potential downside to less structured plans and more free time: summer learning loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer learning loss<\/a>, also known as the “summer slide,\u201d refers to the loss of academic skills that children experience over summer vacation due to a lack of educational stimuli. The phenomenon leads to children often starting the fall school year at a lower instructional level than they finished the previous year, and is typically measured as the difference between spring and fall scores on vertically scaled assessments such as NWEA MAP Growth<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows<\/a> that typical summer setbacks are larger in math than reading and vary widely across students. Analyses of national MAP Growth data estimate that, on average, students lose roughly 20\u201334% of the prior year\u2019s gains in reading and 27\u201350% in math<\/a> over the summer, with bigger math losses in the upper grades. Post\u2011pandemic, summer 2022 losses were elevated, summer 2023 losses moderated but often remained above pre\u2011pandemic in upper grades for reading, and overall academic recovery stalled in 2023\u201324\u2014leaving less \u201cbuffer\u201d for additional summer setbacks (NWEA<\/a>). Once in the classroom, educators commonly spend the first weeks of school re\u2011establishing routines and reviewing material\u2014sometimes on the order of four to six weeks<\/a>\u2014to get students back on track. And over time, summer learning loss can accumulate, causing some children to fall further behind academically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important for parents to prevent summer learning loss by creating a manageable learning plan for their child during the summer break from school. Luckily, utilizing your internet <\/a>for online learning can help prevent the summer slide\u2014especially when you use structured approaches like scheduled 1:1 or very small\u2011group tutoring and guided practice on evidence\u2011based platforms (EEF<\/a>; National Student Support Accelerator<\/a>; EEF: Digital technology<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students at risk of summer learning loss<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Students who lose academic skills over the summer months do not lose these skills at the same rate. Factors such as socioeconomic status, class subject and grade level all play a role in how much learning a student actually misses over the summer, and there is wide student\u2011to\u2011student variation\u2014some students even maintain or gain, especially in reading (seasonal learning variability<\/a>; methodological re\u2011examinations<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socioeconomic status<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows <\/a>that longstanding equity patterns persist: students in higher\u2011poverty contexts tend to experience larger summer setbacks on average and slower recovery overall. Recent national indicators show lower\u2011performing students\u2014who disproportionately come from low\u2011SES backgrounds\u2014have seen larger declines and slower bounce\u2011back in reading and math (NAEP Long\u2011Term Trend<\/a>; Education Recovery Scorecard<\/a>). Access to reliable home internet also matters for online summer supports; roughly 23 million households participated in the Affordable Connectivity Program before its wind\u2011down, raising concerns about renewed digital\u2011access disparities that can undercut recovery efforts (FCC ACP<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The loss of reading comprehension tends to be more mixed than math over the summer, but on average lower\u2011income students show larger setbacks and have less access to enrichment. Math skills are consistently more affected than reading across grades, which makes intentional practice and supports crucial\u2014especially for students with less access to books, tutoring, or structured activities at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disparity of summer learning loss by subject and grade levels<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not all grade levels experience the summer slide equally either. Overall, decreases in math<\/a> are larger than in reading: pre\u2011pandemic estimates suggest students typically lost about 27\u201350% of prior\u2011year gains in math versus 20\u201334% in reading over the summer, with middle\u2011grade math showing the largest setbacks (Brookings summary of NWEA data<\/a>). Post\u2011pandemic patterns show summer setbacks remained elevated in many grades in 2022 and moderated in 2023, but reading losses in upper elementary and middle school often remained above pre\u2011pandemic levels (NWEA<\/a>). In the elementary grades<\/a>, many students still experience measurable summer slowdowns, particularly in math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to research<\/a>, average patterns mask high variability: some students lose ground while others hold steady or even gain\u2014especially in reading\u2014depending on access to learning opportunities. Because summer learning loss is cumulative, small setbacks can add up over multiple summers<\/a>, particularly for students with fewer enrichment opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Length of summer break<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many schools have considered modifying their academic calendar to offset summer learning loss. Some have extended the school year while others have adopted a year-round calendar. However, evidence suggests that simply redistributing days has mixed-to-modest effects on average; the bigger gains come when intersessions or summer weeks are used for structured, standards-aligned academic programming (e.g., small-group\/high-dosage tutoring with strong attendance) aligned to the school-year curriculum (The Wallace Foundation<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A review of current research<\/a> revealed that balanced\/intersession calendars by themselves have limited impact on long-term achievement, but districts that use those breaks for adequately dosed, curriculum-aligned instruction see measurable gains\u2014especially in math\u2014when students attend consistently (RAND\/Wallace evidence<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these approaches are still evaluated across school districts, parents are taking advantage of online learning options. In recent summers, districts also expanded in\u2011person and hybrid summer programming using federal ESSER recovery funds; with ESSER now sunset, sustainability is a growing concern for 2025 and beyond (ESSER tracker<\/a>). <\/a>Luckily, broadband adoption<\/a> and device access improved in recent years, though the wind\u2011down of the Affordable Connectivity Program<\/a> may re\u2011widen digital access gaps; at minimum, many families have access via a smartphone<\/a>. This type of online access is vital for students to supplement their education throughout the summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to successfully implement online summer learning for your child<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot to consider when creating a summer learning plan for your child. First, you need to understand your child\u2019s current instructional level and define their academic goals. Then, you can create a summer routine that’s conducive to learning and communicate any summer learning plans with your child, as well as with any caregivers, to make sure everyone is on board and excited to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-summer planning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are a few things you and your child will need to do to prepare for a summer of successful learning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n