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How to Use the Summer to Prevent Learning Loss

How to Use the Summer to Prevent Learning Loss

Source: SmartBrief

As the 2019–2020 school year comes to a close, some educators may be feeling a sense of relief at watching a particularly challenging spring fade in the rearview mirror. Many more, however, may already be worrying about all the catching up students and teachers will have to do in the fall. As a result, many are looking to make this summer more academic than the typical summer -- though it’s not entirely clear how to accomplish that in a remote learning world.

Amid the uncertainty and confusion caused by the pandemic, there is a small but growing group of voices suggesting that some of what we thought we knew about the summer slide may not be true. So, is it actually helpful for educators to address summer learning losses? And, if so, how can they tackle that challenge in a summer where they may not be able to physically meet with students? Unsurprisingly, there are no perfect answers to these questions, but we can gain some clarity on these issues.

What Do We Really Know About Summer Slide?

Recently, Paul von Hippel of the University of Texas, Austin, and researchers at the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study each independently tried to replicate the results of the Beginning School Study, upon which many commonly held beliefs about the summer slide are based. Those beliefs include the idea that overall performance gaps are created during summer months and that, traditionally, disadvantaged kids are the most affected.

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