Millions of students enroll in summer school each year for a variety of reasons. Some students retake courses needed for graduation, some take courses for academic acceleration and enrichment, and some take career prep or college prep courses. In addition to K-12 programs, high school and middle school students can take advantage of summer programs offered by more than 97% of top universities.
In 2019, there were about 3.3 million students enrolled in summer school in the U.S., and in 2020, the latest year figures were available, that number increased to 3.4 million. According to a report on summer school by ThinkImpact, continued attendance in summer school could result in up to 25% improvement in mathematics, and up to 23% improvement in language capabilities. And 2022 should see growth as well “As there is an increased focus and significance placed on education, summer school has enjoyed a resurgence.”
The Effect of Summer School
As ThinkImpact reports, “Research has shown that students at every stage can benefit from summer school” and enrolling students in a grade level lower than the grade they just completed seems to have a marked positive impact.
The positive impact of summer school persists, even after the following school year. Students are generally showing an advantage of one grade level in post-tests over their peers, and even “one year later, there was a 13% benefit for students” in the subject they took in summer school.
Summer school during the pandemic, including online summer school, helped prevent loss of 50% of math gains and 30% of reading gains.
Blending Vacation with Learning
For most students, summer means fun and freedom and no more studying or homework. Parents need to keep that in mind, and weigh the benefits of summer learning with the benefits of having time off. Since most summer school programs are short duration, and typically don’t require daily attendance or long hours, it’s relatively easy to combine summer fun with summer learning.
The “summer slide” is a known phenomenon that impacts students primarily in math and reading. Typically, students lose an average of two months of reading skills and 2.6 months of math skills over the summer. Once they return to school in the fall, it can take weeks if not months to relearn and get caught back up to where they were at the beginning of summer.
This is one reason many parents choose to incorporate some kind of summer learning for their kids.
Summer Tutoring Online
If you’re planning to enroll your student in a summer learning program, you may find that a little one-on-one personalized tutoring support will help boost that learning. Or if your student just needs a couple of hours a week of tutoring without the need to enroll in a formal summer program, TutorUp has solutions for your needs. All of our tutors are certified, classroom-experienced teachers and as such, they have more availability over the summer than during the school year. We can match your student with the perfect tutor to help them sail through a summer school program, or just help them avoid the annual summer slump. Click here to let us know what you’re looking for.
Vacations, Day Trips – Have fun and learn something at the same time!
Need some great recommendations?
It’s July and you may still be thinking about a summer vacation with the kids. If you haven’t already got your summer plans all set, and you’d like to do something fun and educational, we’ve got some great ideas for you.
Whether you plan to pack up the RV and hit the road, or you want to drive/fly to a specific destination, these are some of our favorite spots that are fascinating for young and old travelers alike. read more…
Thinking it’s too late for summer school?
Some schools have already launched their summer school programs, and if you didn’t get signed up, you may have missed the window of opportunity. And there’s also a good chance that the summer programs near you were filled up, and your child may be on a waiting list and has missed out.
If either of these scenarios apply to your student, you can still provide a learning experience that will have a positive impact on your student’s academic performance by signing up for some online tutoring this summer. Learning loss from COVID is evident across the country. Summer learning loss just compounds the problem. So to make sure your student gets an academic boost instead of an academic loss, dedicating a bit of summer vacation time to tutoring is a great idea.
Statistics show that 79% of schools are offering online summer school classes in the wake of the pandemic. The percentage of students who enroll in summer school has been steadily increasing every year since they started tracking it in 1985, and the percentage of high school students enrolled is now approaching 50%.
Something that you may not be aware of is that more than 97% of top universities offer summer programs for high school students, and some even offer programs for middle school children.
In addition, online summer school during the pandemic can help to prevent loss of 50% of math gains and prevent 30% of loss in reading gains.
Further, students in all grades can benefit from summer school, not just high schoolers. Kindergarteners and first graders who attended summer school outperformed their peers. And the benefits from attending summer school persist. One year later, there is still a 13% benefit for students in the subject they studied in summer school.
What if it’s too late to enroll in summer school?
Some schools have already launched their summer school programs, and if you didn’t get signed up, you may have missed the window of opportunity. And there’s also a good chance that the summer programs near you were filled up, and your child may be on a waiting list and has missed out.
If either of these scenarios apply to your student, you can still provide a learning experience that will have a positive impact on your student’s academic performance by signing up for some online tutoring this summer. Learning loss from COVID is evident across the country. Summer learning loss just compounds the problem. So to make sure your student gets an academic boost instead of an academic loss, dedicating a bit of summer vacation time to tutoring is a great idea.
Tutoring is flexible
Summer school has a set schedule, even when it’s presented in an online format. Tutoring, on the other hand, is completely flexible to fit your family’s schedule. Are you going to be out of town for a while? Do you have other schedule conflicts that make summer school impossible? Or do you just want your student to spend a couple of hours each week on educational activities so they’re not giving up their whole vacation on “school stuff”? Schedule tutoring when it’s convenient for your family.
Does your student need some one-on-one help with summer school?
Summer tutoring is the perfect support for the student who is enrolled in summer school and may be having a bit of difficulty keeping up with the accelerated pace. In order to cover material that normally gets covered in a full semester, summer school courses, especially at the high school level, can be a real challenge. One-on-one tutoring, even just an hour or two per week, can help your student keep up with summer school demands.
TutorUp offers 30-minute tutoring sessions
You can purchase tutoring sessions this summer that are 30 minutes long, or combine sessions to get an hour of tutoring, or 90 minutes… whatever works. All of our tutors are certified, experienced, background-checked classroom teachers who know how to connect with students. Just type in your contact info below so we can chat with you about your child’s specific needs, or give us a call to find out how you can get your student learning on your schedule and your budget this summer.
