Effects of Summer School on Academic Achievement: Reducing Summer Learning Loss in Middle School
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Summer learning loss has been implicated in the achievement gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged students. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a summer school program on the degree of summer learning loss and academic achievement of middle school students. Participants included a census of middle school students who attended the summer school program at a small public charter school in the Midwest between the fall of 2010 and the spring of 2014. Achievement and learning loss were determined based on fall and spring testing using the Northwest Evaluation Association’s Measures for Academic Progress test, a nongrade- leveled, computerized adaptive test. Data was gathered for the school year prior to summer school attendance as well as the school year following attendance. National normative data on the MAP test for the same grade levels was used as a comparison measure. Two-sampled t-test analyses and comparisons to normative data indicated significant summer learning in mathematics for students attending between their 6th and 7th grade year, and significant post-treatment achievement gains for students attending between their 7th and 8th grade year. Gains for reading and language usage were not significantly different than expected norms during the summer or the posttreatment year. Implications for summer school and future study are given.
Author: Angela Joy Aumaugher
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W81171494