As the new school year begins, many students return to class already playing catch-up in math. For those who ended the previous grade doing just fine, or maybe even a little uncertain, this gap can grow quickly.
Skills that seemed solid in spring, like dividing fractions or solving word problems, now feel shaky. Homework takes longer, and frustration sets in faster.
This quiet regression often surprises parents, especially when their child seemed to be keeping up just a few months ago. More often than not, it’s the result of what educators call the summer slide.
In this guide, we’ll explore what the summer slide in math is, why it happens, and how it can impact your child, both now and over time. More importantly, you’ll find expert-backed strategies to help prevent it, so your child returns to school with stronger skills and growing confidence.
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The summer slide refers to the learning loss many students experience over the summer months when they're away from the structured environment of school. While all academic areas can be affected, math is especially vulnerable.
Unlike reading, which children may continue to engage with informally through books or conversation, math often gets left behind during the break. And math relies heavily on sequence.
Each new concept builds on previous knowledge, so when students forget how to work with fractions or solve equations, they face steeper challenges with more advanced material later.
Research supports this concern. A large national study published in the American Educational Research Journal found that more than half of U.S. students experienced summer learning losses for five consecutive years.
According to the study, the students lost nearly 39% of their school-year gains during each summer. In math specifically, the average student lost between 25% and 34% of what they had learned the year before.
These findings help explain why the summer slide in math isn’t just a seasonal setback but a hidden hurdle that can quietly undermine progress.
What begins as a few forgotten skills in September can quietly disrupt learning as the year progresses. For students already on the edge of mastering key concepts, it can be the tipping point between staying on track and falling behind.
Math learning loss over summer doesn’t happen all at once. It’s the result of subtle shifts in routine, priorities, and support that gradually chip away at retention.
Several underlying factors contribute to why math skills tend to slip during summer break.
While reading often finds its way into summer routines through bedtime stories, road signs, or even game instructions, math is different. It usually requires intentional practice.
Without regular exposure to problem-solving and number sense, skills fade faster than most parents expect. And because math concepts build on one another, forgetting even a few steps can make it harder to engage with new material when school starts again.
Summer break is packed with family vacations, outdoor fun, camps, and screen time, all valuable in their own way. But unlike the school year, summer tends to lack academic structure.
Few children naturally gravitate toward math activities when given free time, and without that structure, it’s easy for weeks to pass without meaningful engagement with math.
Many parents want to help their children maintain learning over the summer, but math can be an especially difficult subject to support. Busy schedules, work commitments, and growing content complexity make it challenging to provide consistent guidance.
Even when students master a concept during the school year, that knowledge isn’t guaranteed to stick. Without periodic review, especially over an extended break, long-term retention weakens.
This is especially true in math, where concepts often require not just memorization, but repeated application. When those opportunities disappear for weeks at a time, students may struggle to recall previously learned material or apply it with confidence.
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As the school year begins, some students ease back into math routines, while others show signs that key skills didn’t stick over the summer. If your child is experiencing any of the following, it may be an indication that the summer slide has set in:
They struggle to recall familiar math concepts. Your child pauses when asked what 8 × 7 is, or forgets how to find the area of a rectangle—topics they had mastered just a few months earlier.
They become frustrated or discouraged with math tasks. Once-confident students might suddenly say things like “I can’t do this” or avoid math homework altogether. This emotional shift often reflects a dip in their sense of competence.
They rely on outdated or inefficient methods. A child who previously used mental math might revert to counting on fingers. Or, instead of solving a multi-step word problem systematically, they skip steps or guess.
They take noticeably longer to solve problems. You may notice that homework once took 10 minutes and now stretches to 30, with your child second-guessing each step or asking for constant reassurance.
They need help with tasks that used to be independent. If your child is asking for assistance on foundational skills, like simplifying fractions or basic long division, they may have lost fluency during the summer.
Noticing these early patterns allows you to step in with support before small struggles turn into larger learning gaps.
Struggling to recall familiar math skills, relying on outdated methods, or losing confidence—these are often the first signs of the summer slide.
Preventing summer slide doesn’t require hours of tutoring or a rigid schedule. It starts with small, intentional actions. When parents introduce math in meaningful, consistent ways, students are far more likely to retain what they’ve learned and even build new skills before fall.
The strategies below offer practical ways to help make that happen.
Practice, not perfection, matters most. Setting aside just 15 to 20 minutes a day for math, whether through worksheets, educational apps, or quick problem sets, can make a significant difference in retention.
Choose a time that fits easily into your child’s day, such as after breakfast or before screen time. The goal isn’t to recreate school but to maintain a steady rhythm.
Math doesn't have to feel like homework to be effective. Games and playful activities can help children practice important skills without even realizing they’re learning.
Card games, board games with counting or strategy elements, logic puzzles, and math-based apps all turn math into a low-stress, enjoyable part of the day.
This informal approach helps build confidence and prevents math from feeling overwhelming. It’s also central to how we approach learning at Mathnasium, where the goal is to make math feel accessible and enjoyable rather than just a set of rules to memorize.
When students engage with math in positive, low-pressure ways, they’re not only reinforcing skills, but also reshaping how they think about the subject over time.
When students recognize how math applies to everyday life, they are more likely to stay engaged and retain what they have learned.
In fact, the Harvard Graduate School of Education emphasizes that incorporating math into daily routines can help prevent summer learning loss by keeping skills active in meaningful contexts.
To put this into action, look for natural opportunities to involve your child in everyday decisions that use math. Invite them to calculate how much change you should get at the store, measure ingredients for a favorite recipe, or track their weekly spending with a simple budget.
At Mathnasium, we take a similar approach and use real-world examples and word problems to help students connect classroom learning to the world around them.
Simple, real-world tasks like these not only reinforce classroom learning but also help children see math as a practical and useful part of everyday life.
Not all practice is equally effective. Look for materials that align with your child’s current or upcoming grade level and focus on areas where they may need extra support.
Many publishers and online platforms offer summer math workbooks and digital tools designed to reinforce essential concepts and build readiness for the year ahead.
A mix of review and preview content helps solidify learning and boosts confidence moving into new material.
Home-based strategies offer flexibility, but many students benefit from the consistency and focus that a well-organized summer program provides.
Structured programs typically involve regular sessions, clear learning goals, and guidance from trained educators who can adapt instruction to a student’s needs.
A 2022 meta-analysis by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University found that participation in summer math programs led to measurable academic gains, including improvements in standardized test performance. The study also noted broader benefits, such as increased student engagement and more positive attitudes toward learning.
What sets structured programs apart is the focused environment they provide, free from distractions and designed for progress. With consistent support and expert guidance, students can stay engaged, take ownership of their learning, and carry that momentum into the school year.
This is exactly the kind of structure Mathnasium’s summer program is built to provide: personalized, consistent, and focused entirely on helping students succeed in math.
Mathnasium allows students to explore math in a fun, stress-free environment
Summer can be a turning point, not just to keep math skills from slipping, but to build momentum for the year ahead. When students stay engaged, they don’t just maintain what they’ve learned; they grow.
That’s exactly what Mathnasium’s Summer Math Program is designed to do.
As a math-only learning center, Mathnasium helps students in grades K–12 build lasting math skills, increase confidence, and transform how they feel about math. At the core of our approach is the Mathnasium Method™, which combines personalized instruction with proven techniques that make math clear, approachable, and rewarding.
With flexible scheduling that works for busy families, our program combines personalized instruction with consistent support, keeping math part of the summer without getting in the way of fun.
Every part of Mathnasium’s Summer Math Program is designed to help your child grow their skills in a way that’s focused, personalized, and enjoyable.
Diagnostic Assessment: Each student begins with an assessment to identify their current level, strengths, and learning gaps. This helps us create a personalized learning plan.
Customized Learning Plan: Based on the assessment, our instructors design a plan tailored to your child’s goals—whether reinforcing foundational skills or preparing for what’s ahead.
Interactive, Engaging Instruction: Using the proven Mathnasium Method™, students learn through hands-on, guided sessions that build understanding and confidence in a supportive environment.
Meaningful Progress: By the end of the summer, students return to school with stronger math skills, greater confidence, and a more positive outlook on learning.
Hear from Mathnasium Method™ creator Larry Martinek on how this approach helps students build a deep understanding and confidence in math.
With over 1,100 locations nationwide, Mathnasium delivers trusted summer programs to families across the country. For families in and near Denver, Mathnasium of Cherry Hills offers both flexible scheduling and a local team of specially trained math tutors ready to help your child excel in math.
Whether your child needs to catch up, keep up, or get ahead, our summer math programs are tailored to meet them where they are—and help them grow from there.
Take the first step. Schedule a free assessment with Mathnasium of Cherry Hills and give your child a confident start to the new school year.
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