Effects of Summer Break on Students

Summer is finally here, and parents are both excited and overwhelmed by the idea of their children spending 12 weeks at home. Though it’s a perfect time to pack up the family and head out on an adventure, three months is an awfully long time to be without education. As a program that offers mainstream and special education tutoring in Massachusetts, we have seen the impacts an extended break has on students first hand.

Many believe education should be continuous.

Studies have found that short breaks have limited impacts on a child’s ability or retained knowledge while longer breaks have had proven, lasting effects on math and reading. Similar to students with special needs, reinforced learning is necessary to see improvements in their learning and summer can lessen a child’s ability to focus on these vital tasks.

These concerns are especially significant for lower-income families who might not have access to educationally rich programs during the summer or have encouragement to join free programs available around them. According to MetaMetrics, Inc., studies showed low-income families lost nearly three months of grade-level equivalency over the summer with middle-income students losing one month average. These differences can lead to significant gaps in learning abilities of students within the same grade and also have shown in their standardized testing results.

The potential solutions?

There have been discussions in recent years of adjusting our school calendars to increase or create new school breaks during the year and decrease the length of summer vacation or finding summer program solutions. With tradition being difficult to break and professionals believing both teachers and students need a break to prepare for the next school year, a conclusion might not be reached.

Fortunately, Shrewsbury Learning Experts will be here to help our students succeed even in the summer. From SAT and ACT prep to special education tutors, we have everything you need in Massachusetts to help your child prepare for the next school year in subjects they struggle and maintain their knowledge levels for the fall season.

With more questions, please call our experts today at (508) 845-0000.