School is almost out for summer. For some it means graduation, while for others it means promotion to the next grade.
Students spend almost 10 months in a classroom throughout the school year, but is it possible for students to lose some of that valuable knowledge over summer vacation?
After a long day at school, Joseph and Ysabella Gordon come home to knock out their homework.
As the school year draws to a close, they're looking forward to being out of the classroom..
“During the summertime we usually take our annual trip to Disney as a family, and they look forward to that every year,” said their mother Jenny Gordon.
While family time is great, she also worries about academics.
“There's this long period where there's not any learning going on,” Gordon said.
Middle Georgia State University education professor Shamani Shikwambi says parents should be concerned.
“There is definitely a process of losing something,” Shikwambi said. “We need to find ways to retain what we're teaching throughout the academic year.”
According to research published by the University of Missouri, a professor found students lose an average of about two months of reading skills and more than two and a half months of math skills over summer vacation.
The research also finds knowledge loss can be even greater depending on socioeconomics.
Shikwambi says middle class families are more likely to encourage their children to do other educational activities during the summer.
He says some lower income families might not have the same resources.
“Due to low income families, due to kids who do not have support systems in homes, where kids have not been identified earlier with learning challenges or difficulties,” Shikwambi said.
Difficulties that can get worse over time.
“They come back the next academic year, so the gap of about two months has become a gap of about five months,” Shikwambi said. “By the time those kids come to 5th grade there’s a difference of about 2.5 years.”
He says they could be changed through summer enrichment programs, which is something Gordon says her children get from their school through summer assignments.
So we verified, it’s true that summer brain drain is a real problem, but it also can be prevented.
Shikwambi says if your child doesn’t have summer assignments to ask your child’s teacher what you can do to engage your child.
Below are some links to resources to help your child.
Math
Reading