What is Summer Slide?

The "Summer Slide" is an academic term that refers to the loss of skills that often occurs over the summer when kids enjoy their time off too much. For math, students begin to:

• Get rusty on core skills: Do I divide the numerator into the denominator, or it is the other way around? Which way do I move the decimal point?
• Forget key vocabulary:  Which is the constant and which is the coefficient? Parallel and perpendicular? Which is the multiple and which is the factor? What is congruency again? Students can learn up to 60 math vocabulary words a year in math alone. The accumulation of terms becomes a roadblock for many as they approach middle school and teachers actively use proper mathematical language in their lessons.
• Misapply rules they haven't used in a while: Order of operations is just left to right, right? I can combine 1/8 and 1/3 to make 2/11.

In fact, the concept of summer slide was studied at John's Hopkins and they measured that the loss is somewhere between two and two and a half months of learning for math.

In a separate study, they found math learning to be highly dependent on schooling, or, rather, skills being taught, which is tough when school is out!  

Every student can benefit from a math program over the summer:

• Catch Up:  What a perfect time to close the gaps and be ready for school in the fall. The school curriculum has come to a halt, so it is a perfect time to catch up on the things that didn't make sense that will show up again at a more complex level shortly. 
• Keep Up:  Have a kid who wants to be the smartest in the class?  Have one who is good on their own but has the potential to be better or even great? Maybe needs a little fine-tuning?  These kids come to Mathnasium too!  
• Get Ahead: A third of our students fir into this category. They are either bored in class because they aren't being challenged or they want to prep for what is coming down the pike so they are always understanding the lessons in the classroom. 

Custom tailoring is what Mathnasium is all about! Working with talented math instructors who talk out strategies, asking questions, applying success in one area to the success in another area of math, and propel students to become awesome Mathletes.

It is suggested by Karl Alexander of Johns Hopkins that strategically planned, structured summer experiences are what ward off the summer learning loss.  What a perfect fit for Mathnasium of La Jolla!  We offer 16 or 24 session packages to be used over the summer.  Each session is a tailor made sixty minutes for every student, so they work on the skills that benefit them the most. One parent called it "Optimized Learning" and man did that hit the nail on the head! Use them flexibly over the summer for the perfect balance of fun, sun, and smarts!

Call our center to learn more! 858-335-5686 or email us at [email protected] to learn how we can help your student.