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Summer Learning

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Research shows that summertime can widen the achievement gap between students from low-income families and their more-affluent peers. Summer learning programs are a promising way to narrow the gap. RAND researchers examine approaches and strategies for summer learning initiatives and their effects on student outcomes.

Commentary
How to Make Sure Your Summer Learning Program Is Effective
In the best of times, it is no small feat to put together a quality summer learning program. Given that districts are focusing not only on academic recovery from COVID learning loss, but on retaining teachers, supporting students' and teachers' mental health, and addressing increases in misbehavior, they need immediate, digestible guidance for summer programming.
Mar 30, 2022
Commentary
Teachers Have Lost Out on Professional Development. Summer Programs Could Help
For thousands of teachers across the United States, 2020 was a year of uncertainty. Many lacked access to their usual professional learning activities. Summer programs for students that also offer learning opportunities for teachers might help make up for lost time.
Mar 5, 2021

Explore Summer Learning

Research Brief
Kids Benefit from Voluntary Summer Learning Programs
Fourth graders who attended at least 20 days of summer learning programs benefited in mathematics and language arts achievement. When voluntary summer learning programs are effective, what factors are associated with success?
Sep 7, 2016
Report
Summer Learning Programs Benefit Low-Income Urban Students
Low-income students lose ground in the summer relative to their wealthier peers. High-quality voluntary summer learning programs can help disadvantaged students catch up and succeed in school, but consistent attendance is crucial.
Sep 7, 2016
Journal Article
The Impact of Summer Learning Loss on Measures of School Performance
State and federal accountability policies are predicated on the ability to estimate valid and reliable measures of school impacts on student learning. Results raise questions about the design of performance-based education policies, as well as schools' role in the production of students' achievement.
Jun 1, 2016
Blog
Summer Learning Day: Stopping the Summer Slide
RAND is conducting the first-ever assessment of large-scale, voluntary, district-run, summer learning programs serving low-income elementary students. The results may help districts, educators, and policymakers make better decisions about funding and implementing programs to stop summer learning loss.
Jun 19, 2015
Research Brief
First Outcomes from the National Summer Learning Study
Five urban school districts are offering voluntary summer learning programs free of charge to struggling elementary students as part of a project to determine whether these kinds of programs improve low-income student outcomes.
Feb 13, 2015
News Release
Students Attending Summer Learning Programs Returned to School in the Fall with an Advantage in Math
Students who attended voluntary, school district-led summer learning programs in five urban areas began the academic year with stronger math skills than their peers who did not attend the programs.
Dec 16, 2014
Report
Students Who Attended Summer Learning Programs Gained an Advantage in Math
Summer learning loss disproportionately affects low-income students and therefore likely contributes to the achievement gap between these students and their higher-income peers. Students who attended voluntary, school district-led summer learning programs in five urban areas began the academic year with stronger math skills than their peers who did not attend.
Dec 16, 2014
Q&A
Ask Me Anything: Catherine Augustine on Summer Learning
With summer now underway, RAND's Catherine Augustine hosted an
Jul 3, 2014
Report
Early and School-Age Care in Santa Monica: Current System, Policy Options, and Recommendations: Executive Summary
In July 2012, the City of Santa Monica Human Services Division and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District contracted with the RAND Corporation to conduct an assessment of child care programs in Santa Monica.
Apr 25, 2014
Report
Early and School-Age Care in Santa Monica
Researchers examine how well Santa Monica's child care programs meet the needs of families, including child care and early education programs before kindergarten, as well as care for school-aged children, both during the school year and the summer.
Apr 25, 2014
Blog
Early Planning Key to Effective Summer Learning Programs
RAND education experts Jennifer McCombs and Catherine Augustine hosted a news media conference call to discuss the best steps school districts can take to provide the most effective and rewarding summer learning programs.
Aug 14, 2013
News Release
Early Planning Is One of Several Steps Crucial to Successful Summer Learning Programs
The most important steps school districts can take to implement an effective summer learning program are to begin planning at least six months in advance and to include both district and summer site leaders in the process.
Aug 13, 2013
Research Brief
How to Get the Most out of a Summer Learning Program
Summer learning programs may help close the achievement gap between low- and higher-income children if done well, but they are sometimes an afterthought or not offered at all, especially when education budgets are tight. Starting the planning process early, hiring the right teachers, and other best practices can help ensure success.
Aug 12, 2013
Report
Early Planning Is One of Several Steps Crucial to Successful Summer Learning Programs
The most important steps school districts can take to implement an effective summer learning program are to begin planning at least six months in advance and to include both district and summer site leaders in the process.
Aug 12, 2013
Solution
Developing Strategies for Summer Learning
RAND education experts conducted extensive literature reviews, examined summer program cost data, interviewed numerous providers of summer programs, and visited a diverse range of U.S. cities to interview summer learning leaders and observe summer learning directly.
Aug 10, 2013
Multimedia
Media Conference Call on Getting to Work on Summer Learning
RAND education experts Jennifer McCombs and Catherine Augustine hosted a news media conference call to discuss the best steps school districts can take to provide the most effective and rewarding summer learning programs. Ann Stone, who leads the summer learning initiatives at The Wallace Foundation, which funded the study, also participated. The call was moderated by RAND Media Relations Officer Joe Dougherty.
Aug 9, 2013
Multimedia
Media Conference Call on Summer Learning Programs
RAND education expert Catherine Augustine co-hosted a news media conference call to discuss
Jun 18, 2013
Blog
Three Summer Learning Tips Parents Can Use
There’s plenty that parents can do at home to help their kids stay sharp until the new school year begins.
Jun 10, 2013
Announcement
At 65, RAND Continues to Make a Difference
To celebrate our first 60 years, we created 60 Ways RAND Has Made a Difference, an online book to illustrate our most notable contributions. On our 65th birthday, we provide five of the most recent ways in which we at RAND are proud to have made a difference.
May 13, 2013
Journal Article
The Academic Effects of Summer Instruction and Retention in New York City
This article examines the impacts of summer instruction and test-based grade retention in New York City.
Mar 1, 2013

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Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor

Researcher Spotlight

Katie Tosh

Adjunct Policy Analyst

Katie Tosh (she/her) is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. Her research interests include the design, implementation, and evaluation of education and health programs and policies. She is particularly interested in quality improvement and systems change. She is skilled at planning…
Susannah Faxon-Mills

Senior Policy Analyst

Susannah Faxon-Mills (she/her) is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. She has expertise in education policy, implementation and developmental evaluation, and qualitative methods and analysis. Her work explores how local educational systems, communities, and intermediary…

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