Summer is an ideal time for students of all ages to
strengthen their academic skills while still having plenty of time left over
for summer activities.
When the school doors close for the summer, many children
struggle to access educational opportunities. Summer Brain Drain is another
term for learning loss and is the loss in academic skills and knowledge over
the course of summer holidays. On average, children lose about 2.6 months’
worth of grade level equivalency in mathematical skills during their summer
break! What’s more, children only need to spend 2 – 3 hours per week using
educational resources during the summer break to prevent any learning loss!
Studies have found that all children, regardless of
background, made similar improvement during term time. It is during the long
summer break that differences occurred: children from wealthier backgrounds had
better access to the kinds of activities that keep their brains active, be that
summer camps, physical activity programs, formal tutoring or simply more
conversation with adults. In short, summer brain drain affects all children,
but unfortunately is much more apparent with children from less-wealthy
families.
Summer Learning Loss
Facts:
- Equivalent of one month of overall learning is lost after summer break
- Six weeks are spent re-learning old material to make up for summer learning loss
- Two months of reading skills are lost over the summer
- 2 – 3 hours a week during the summer break is need to prevent any learning loss
- As early as Reception summer learning loss can be recognized
- Two months of all subject focused learning is all it takes to improve specific learning skills
- Two thirds of income based achievement gap is attributed to summer learning loss
- It can take up to 2 months from the first day of school for a student’s brain development to get back on track.
How can you prevent
the learning loss?
When it comes to helping to stop the flow of learning loss,
parents have a key role to play. Learning loss is much less pronounced, if
there at all, in families that provide learning opportunities. As a parent, we
know that you want your children to have a break from formal learning this summer
but it is also important for you to understand the importance of learning and
try and introduce the opportunity to keep their brains active. Thanks to the
10ticks Home Learning System, the power to stop Summer Learning Loss is
literally at your fingertips.
