The Summer Slide: What do you need to know?

Ask yourself, when is your child better at math—at the end of a grade level or at the beginning of the next grade?

If you answered, “end of a grade level,” you are likely to be correct. The typical child has more math skills when they leave for the summer than when they enter their new grade in the fall.

Educators call this problem “The Summer Slide”.

The Summer Slide—Not as Fun as It Sounds!

The summer slide is more than just kids being rusty or restless. Recent studies show that students lose at least one months’ worth of math instruction over the summer each year. This means that, at the end of the break, it will be as if your child had not attended math class for the first month of school, and they will do the same thing, year after year, until they graduate.

The short and long term effects are equally bad. Math builds on itself, and losing core skills can have a lasting impact. A student can safely forget the details of a novel she read in fourth grade, but if she doesn’t remember how to do division, that’s going to be an issue. This may explain why the effects of the summer slide accumulate: research by the NWEA explains that declines are steeper for math than reading.Summer learning loss isn’t just a problem for your child’s next school year. It’s a problem for their whole life.

How Do You Keep Your Child From Slipping?

Here’s the good news: The slide can be stopped, or at least minimized. 

Summer Is Uniquely Suited to Math Learning

Why is summer a fantastic time for kids to learn math? First and foremost, summer months provide children with a relaxed environment which is conducive to clarifying and reinforcing last year’s learning and to introducing new concepts. Without the burden of other classes, homework, and extracurricular activities, children have more time, are less tired, and are better able to focus. Children in summer math learning programs make tremendous strides in a relatively short period of time.

Kids who participate in summer academic programs terain, and even increase, their skills in those subjects.

Remember, summer math programs aren’t just for kids who are struggling; they’re for anyone who wants to catch up, keep up, or get ahead. While most people think of summer math programs for students who need remedial help, kids who already excel in math love enrichment programs, which allow them to dig deeper into various math topics and challenge them with new math concepts.

Summer at Mathnasium!

It’s that time of year. When parents start to think about scheduling summer activities for their children. If you’re one of them, consider investing in summer learning to not only take steps to avoid summer learning loss, but also help your child to advance in their math skills. 

There’s no better time for kids to catch up and get ahead than during the summer break. And don’t worry — your child will still enjoy their summer. Because we make learning math fun!