Special Note: The intent of this post is to share, in an informal way, some
conclusions typically found in abstracts of research articles. Readers are
encouraged to read the sources below and draw their own conclusions.
For
over a century, we have known that summer vacation has an adverse impact on
student achievement. The current school calendar was designed for an
agriculture-based society that no longer exists. Recent information has
suggested that only about three percent of U.S. citizens have a direct working
relationship to the agriculture field (Hattie, page 81). Any teacher can point
to summer vacation time as a problem for students in terms of retention of
information. The first study on this topic was recorded in 1906! (Von Drehle)
In 1996, Harris Cooper and colleagues looked at a century’s worth of academic
studies and concluded, on average, all students lose about a month in math
skills. Even more concerning is that students in poverty, on average, lose
three months of learning compared to students of middle class families (Von
Drehle). For more information, see also Cooper and others. This negative impact
tends to increase, as students get older (Cooper). A major study by Johns
Hopkins University tracked students from kindergarten through high school. They
concluded that during the school year students made similar progress regardless
of economic status. During the summer, students in middle or upper class
families either stayed the same or actually improved achievement. Disadvantaged
students fell behind; by the end of elementary school, low-income students had
fallen nearly three grade levels behind. “According to the study, by ninth
grade, summer learning loss could be blamed for roughly two-thirds of the
achievement gap separating income groups” (Von Drehle).
While
Calendar 2.0 does not address all of the achievement gap concerns caused by
summer vacation, it does provide for two weeks less of summer vacation and also
allows for intersession periods during the school year to provide students who have
fallen behind with the time and supports they may need to close the achievement
gap.
Sources:
- Cooper, Harris and others. The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review. Review of Educational Research, Fall 1996, Vol. 66, no.3 pp 227-268.
- Hattie, John. Visible Learning: A synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. Routledge Publishing, New York, New York. Pg. 80-81.
- Von Drehle, D. The Case Against Summer Vacation. Time Magazine July 22, 2010. Cover Story.
