ED456557
ED456557
ABSTRACT
This policy brief reviews research on the effectiveness of
summer-school programs. It begins with a short history of the current school
calendar, including how 19th century agrarian life required children to stay
home during the summer to attend to crops or livestock. Next, a meta-analysis
of 13 studies brings to light the effects long summer breaks have on
students, such as the loss of 1 month on achievement test scores, and the
significant loss of math and spelling skills. A history of summer school and
summer-school goals follows. Goals include.preventing delinquent behavior,
remediating or preventing learning deficits, helping to meet minimum
competency requirements, breaking the poverty cycle, and accelerating
progress for gifted students. A review of research on summer school's
effectiveness follows, which demonstrates a dominantly positive effect on
students. The brief concludes with recommendations that policymakers should
continue to fund summer-school programs, require that funds for summer school
be spent on mathematics and reading instruction, and set aside funds for the
purpose of fostering participation in summer programs, especially by
disadvantaged students. Practitioners should plan early, provide program and
staffing continuity from year to year, and integrate summer teaching with
staff development. (Contains 18 references.) (RT)
(Portions of this research were supported by a national trends. First, the nature of the
grant from the U.S. Department of Education, American family has undergone dra-
National Institute on the Education of At-Risk
matic changes. Reynolds Farley (1996),
Students (R306F60041-97). The opinions ex-
pressed herein are those of the author and not using results from the last four U.S.
necessarily the fiinding agency. Harris Cooper can Census endeavors, found that most
be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].) common today is a family headed by a Schools has a policy that establishes
single parent or one in which both par- districtwide standards of promotion for
OVERVIEW ents work outside the home. The students completing third, sixth, and
changes in American families suggest eighth grades. If students do not meet
/n 1999, a Cox Newspapers survey
that the years ahead will bring increas- minimum grade-equivalent reading and
of the nation's ten largest school dis-
ing demands for government-spon- math scores, report card grades, and at-
tricts revealed a 20% increase in
Sored, school-based services for children tendance criteria, they are either retained
summer school enrollment during
when regular classes are not in session. or must attend the Summer Bridge Pro-
1998, to well over 600,000 students
gram (Chicago Public Schools, 1997).
(Mollison & Brett, 1999). By summer
Second, in the past two decades, many In all, 27% of the nation's school dis-
2000, the New York Times reported the
policymakers have become concerned tricts now impose summer school on
number of summer school attendees in
about the global competitiveness of the poor-performing students as a condition
these ten districts had jumped to over American economy and the education for promotion (Mathews, 2000).
850,000 (Wilgoren, 2000). The Cox system that drives it. Statistics from the
Newspapers research also revealed that In sum then, the push for more sum-
National Commission on Time and
nationwide about five million students, mer learning opportunities for children
Learning (1993) suggest that students in
or 10% of students attending elemen- and adolescents will gather momentum
the United States spend less time in school
tary through high school, were enrolled from changes in the American family
than students in many other industrial-
in summer school. Further, between ized nations, as well as less time study- and from a focus on increasing the time
1991 and 1999, the percentage of pub- children spend in formal education as
ing core subjects.
lic elementary schools eligible for Title a means of meeting higher academic
I poverty aid that used the federal funds Finally, in addition to issues of global com- standards and improving America's glo-
to subsidize summer school programs petitiveness, an emphasis has emerged na- bal economic position.
rose from 15% to 41%. tionally on higher academic standards and
2
BEST COPY ii,4BLE
This policy brief reviews research on thelong summer break might have on
SERVE POLICY BRIEF effectiveness of summer school programs. students. To find out, Cooper, Nye,
It begins with a short history of the Charlton, Lindsay, and Greathouse
First Printing, 2001 current school calendar and a summary of (1996) undertook a synthesis of the
research examining the impact of the long research on summer learning loss, or more
summer break on students' achievement specifically, whether students' achievement
SERVE test scores. This is followed by a history of
summer school and its goals. Next, a re-
test scores declined over the summer vaca-
tion. Thirty-nine studies were found ex-
Associated with the School of Education, view of research is presented on whether amining the effects of summer vacation,
University of North Carolina at Greensboro summer school is effective and, ifso, which 13 ofwhich provided enough information
program characteristics are associated with for use in a statistical synthesis. A statisti-
Written for SERVE by the most effective programs. Finally, the cal combination of these results, called a
Harris Cooper, Ph.D., brief concludes with some recommenda- meta-analysis, indicated that summer learn-
Department of Psychology, tions for policymakers and practitioners. ing loss equaled at least one month of in-
University of Missouri struction. On average, children's
HISTORICAL ROOTS OF achievement test scores were at least one
Edited by month lower when they returned to school
Charles Ahearn, Director of THE CURRENT SCHOOL in fall than when students left in spring.
Communications and CALENDAR
Publications, SERVE This meta-analysis also found dramatic
/n the 19th century, school calendars
differences in the effect of summer va-
Donna Nalley, Project Director of reflected the needs of the families
cation on different skill areas. Summer
Publications, SERVE and communities served by each
loss was more pronounced for math
school district (Richmond, 1977). Chil-
facts and spelling than for other tested
Christy Casbon, dren who lived in agricultural areas rarely
skill areas. An explanation of this re-
Assistant Program Specialist, attended school during summer or dur-
sult rests on the observation that both
SERVE ing planting and harvesting so they could
math facts and spelling skills involve the
be free to help tend crops or livestock. If
acquisition of factual and procedural
Designed by children lived in urban areas, it was not
knowledge, whereas other skill areas
Shelley Goldsby, unusual for them to attend school for at
especially math concepts, problem solv-
Graphic Designer, SERVE least two of summer's three months.
ing, and reading comprehensionare
By the turn of the century, family mo- more conceptually based. Without
bility and the growing integration of practice, cognitive psychology suggests,
the national economy made it impor- facts and procedural skills are most sus-
tant to standardize the school curricula. ceptible to being forgotten (e.g., Coo-
Families moving from one community per & Sweller, 1987).
to another needed to find that children
The meta-analysis also suggested that
at the same age were learning and were
summer loss was more pronounced for
expected to know roughly the same
math overall than for reading overall. It
things in their new community as in
may be that children's home environ-
their old one. This need for standard-
ments provide more opportunities to
ization resulted in the current nine-
practice reading skills than to practice
The content of this publication does not month calendar compromise between
necessarily reflect the views or policies of the
mathematics.
town and country, and summer became
Office of Educational Research and Improve- a time without school, regardless where
meni, U.S. Department of Education, nor does In addition to the influence of sub-
children lived (Association of Califor- ject area, numerous differences
mentiori of trade names, commercial products,
or organizations imply endorsement by the nia School Administrators, 1988). among students were tested in the
U.S. Government. meta-analysis. Overall, there was little
SUMMER LEARNING evidence to suggest that intelligence
Loss had an impact on the effect of sum-
This document was produced with funding mer break. Likewise, neither the
The three-month hiatus in the
from the Office of Educational Research and student's sex nor ethnicity appeared
American school calendar raises
Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, to have a consistent influence on
under contract no. ED-0 I-00-0015. the question of what impact the
summer learning loss. Educators
2
expressed special concern about the shifted from an agricultural base to an
impact of summer vacation on the Table 1 industrial one. Most children were
language skills of students who do not Summer Learning Loss either immigrants from abroad who
speak English at home, but the litera- made their homes in large urban areas,
ture search found little evidence bear- or they were part of the great migra-
ing on this issue. tion of Americans from the farm to the
Research reveals that city. Many children and adolescents
Finally, the subject of family economics held jobs during the summer, and those
was examined as an influence on what On average, children lose who were idle were a cause of concern
happens to children over the summer. one month on achieve- for city dwellers (Dougherty, 1981).
The meta-analysis revealed that all stu- However, the passage of the first child
ment test scores over the
dents, regardless of the resources in their labor law in 1916 meant that school-
home, lost roughly equal amounts of summer vacation. aged children had little to do during
math skills over summer. However, sub- their vacation from school. Commu-
stantial economic differences were found Summer loss is nity leaders demanded that organized
for reading. On some measures, middle- greatest in math facts recreational activities be made available
class children showed gains in reading and spelling. for students when school was out. To-
achievement over summer, but disadvan- day, the purposes of summer programs
taged children showed losses. Reading stretch far beyond the prevention of de-
Summer loss is greater in
comprehension scores of both income linquent behavior, but this certainly re-
groups declined, but more so for disad- math than reading. mains among summer school's latent,
vantaged students. Again, the income if not overt, functions.
differences may be related to differences Summer vacation in-
in opportunities to practice and learn creases disparities be- By the 1950s, educators realized that
reading skills over the summer, with tween middle-class and summertime held opportunities to rem-
more books and reading opportunities edy or prevent learning deficits (Austin,
disadvantaged students'
available for middle-class children. Rogers, & Walbesser, 1972). Because the
reading scores. wealthy were able to hire tutors for their
The loss in achievement test scores sug- children, the educational summer pro-
gests that it might be beneficial to con- grams made available through schools
tinue summer remedial and enrichment largely served students from disadvan-
programs. For all students, a focus on taged backgrounds.
mathematics instruction in summer
income groups, then a focus on sum-
would seem to be most effective. Alter- GOALS OF SUMMER
mer reading instruction for disadvan-
natively, if summer programs had the
purpose of lessening inequities across
taged students would be most beneficial. SCHOOL
Summer programs to remedy learn-
It is important to point out, however,
ing deficits can be grouped into four
that the existence of summer learning
categories. First, some summer pro-
loss cannot ipso facto be taken to mean
grams are meant to help students meet
summer educational programs will be
AL minimum competency requirements for
effective remedial interventions. Sum-
graduation or grade promotion. The Chi-
mer school might not change the edu-
cago Public Schools program mentioned
cational trajectory of students who took
earlier is of this sort. Second is the type of
part in such programs. The impact of
program most people think of as "sum-
summer educational programs has to
mer school": secondary-school students
be evaluated on its own merits.
who fail a particular course during the regu-
lar academic year use summer school as
SUMMER SCHOOL an opportunity to retake the course.
As with the school calendar, in
general, the impetus for sum- A third type of remedial summer school
mer programs for school-aged occurs in response to the movement to
youth first resided in economic consid- ensure students with disabilities receive
erations. As the 20th century took hold, a free and appropriate education. In
the economy of the United States 1979, the United States District Court
3 4
vision of supplemental educational THE EFFECTIVENESS
Table 2 services. To accomplish this goal, the
law suggested that children have full OF SUMMER
Goals of access to effective high-quality regu- PROGRAMS
Summer School lar school programs and receive
Ameta-analysis of summer school
supplemental help through ex- research conducted by Cooper,
tended-time activities. The latter in- Charlton, Valentine, and Muh-
Prevent delinquent junction has led to the establishment lenbruck (2000) summarized the results
behavior of educational summer programs for of 93 program evaluations. Five prin-
disadvantaged youth. ciple conclusions were drawn from the
Remediate or prevent
learning deficits research. First, summer school pro-
With the passage of time, the purposes
grams focused on lessening or remov-
Help meet minimum of summer school have grown beyond
ing learning deficiencies have a
competency the provision of remedial education.
positive impact on the knowledge
In 1959, Conant recommended that
requirements and skills of participants. Overall, stu-
boards of education provide summer
Repeat failed courses or dents completing remedial summer
opportunities not only for students
programs can be expected to score
grade levels who were struggling in school but also
about one-fifth of a standard deviation
Prevent regression for for those who needed more flexible
higher than the control group on out-
course schedules or who sought en-
students with come measures. This conclusion was
riched educational experiences.
learning disabilities based on the convergence of numerous
Conant suggested that students who
estimates of summer school effects.
Break the cycle of were heavily involved in extra-curricu-
poverty lar activities or who held work-study The overall impact of summer school
positions could use summer school as a should be viewed as an average effect
Provide flexible high way to lighten their academic burden found across diverse programs evaluated
school course without delaying their graduation. Stu- with a wide variety of methods. These
scheduling dents who wished to graduate early variations influence the effect of pro-
Accelerate progress for could speed up their accumulation of grams in significant ways. Put in practi-
gifted students credits. School administrators in the cal terms, the overall estimate of effect
1960s, faced with the space crunch cre- could guide policy decisions at the
Offer teachers addi- ated by the baby boom, saw the use of broadest level, say by federal or state
tional compensation summer school to speed graduation as a policymakers. However, a local official
way to make room for the growing num- about to implement a specific summer
ber of students. program for a particular type of student
may find effects quite different from the
ruled that the Pennsylvania Depart- Recently, summer vacation has also been
overall finding. Generally, however, both
ment of Education had to provide a embraced as an ideal time to provide spe-
the overall findings and those associated
program beyond the regular school year cialized programs for students with aca-
with specific categories of programs sug-
for children with disabilities. The demic gifts and other talents. Such
gested the effect of most programs is
ruling was based on the premise that programs often involve offering advanced
likely to be greater than zero.
the long summer break would lead to instruction that goes beyond the typical
regression of skills in students covered course of study. At the high school level, The second conclusion from the
by the Individuals with Disabilities the content of these courses might be based meta-analysis was that summer
Education Act. on college-level curricula. Many enrich- school programs focusing on accel-
ment and acceleration summer programs eration of learning or on other goals
Fortunately, the Elementary and Sec- operate out of colleges on a fee basis, some- also have a positive impact on par-
ondary Education Act of 1965 and times with scholarships available. ticipants, roughly equal to programs
its successors recognized the special
focusing on remedial goals. However,
needs of students residing in areas Finally, summer school provides opportu-
because of the smaller number of evalu-
with high concentrations of poverty. nities for teache'rs. Summer schools allow
ations, the robustness of these findings
These programs were meant to break teachers to make additional money and to
could not be tested across student, pro-
the cycle of poverty through the pro- develop professional competencies.
gram, and outcome variations.
5
4
The third conclusion from the meta- also may facilitate planning and may re- The finding that summer school may be
analysis was that summer school pro- move roadblocks to the efficient use of more efficacious for math than reading
grams have more positive effects on resources. Among the reasons cited by outcomes should not create the impres-
the achievement of middle-class stu- teachers and parents for the failure of sion that promoting literacy ought to be a
dents than on students from disadvan- summer programs was the last-minute secondary goal of summer programs. Sum-
taged backgrounds. The difference nature of decision making and the un- mer school has positive effects on reading
between the economic groups was sig- timely arrival of needed materials. These as well as math. Further, illiteracy is a strong
nificant whether or not effects were ad- problems may be more prevalent with predictor of negative social behavior in
justed for methodological confounds and large programs. As a caution to this in- both children and adults (Adams, 1991).
regardless of the assumptions used to terpretation, the size-related program
model error variance. This finding may variables might also be related to the eco- The third tentative conclusion from the
be due to the availability of more resources nomic background of the community meta-analysis was that the achievement
for middle-class families supplementing being served, with larger programs serv- advantage gained by students who attend
and supporting the activities occurring in ing poorer communities. If this is the summer school might diminish over time.
the classroom in ways that may augment case, then economics might be the un- However, this finding should not be taken
the impact of the summer program. derlying causal factor, not local control. to indicate that summer school effects are
Alternatively, summer programs in themselves not long-lasting. Multiple,
middle-class school districts may have bet- Finally, the meta-analysis revealed that subtle processes were uncovered that
ter resources available, leading, for ex- summer programs that provide small- might serve to obscure lasting effects, the
ample, to smaller classes. Heyns (1978) group or individual instruction pro- most obvious of which is that students
suggested that these economic differences duced the largest impact on student who do not attend summer programs
in summer school outcomes might oc- outcomes. Further, those evaluations that may receive similar programs during the
cur because "programs are less structured solicited comments from teachers about school year that are not needed by sum-
and depend on the motivation and in- the positive aspects of summer school mer attendees. Also, summer school may
terest of the child." Finally, the learning often suggested that small group and in- have positive effects on developmental tra-
problems of disadvantaged youth may be dividual instruction were among the jectories that go unnoticed due to how a
simply more intransigent than the prob- program's strengths. There is no reason study is carried out.
lems of middle-class students. why the more general educational litera-
ture showing a relation between class size Fourth, remedial summer school pro-
Two points should be emphasized. First, and achievement ought not apply to sum- grams had positive effects for students
even though the effect was larger for mer programs as well (Mosteller, 1995). at all grade levels, although the effects
middle-class students, all estimates of may be most pronounced for students
summer school's impact on disadvan- In addition to these principal conclusions, in early primary grades and secondary
taged students were significantly differ- there were five other conclusions drawn school than in middle grades. The un-
ent from zero. Second, if summer from the research, but with less confi- derlying cause of this finding may be the
programs are targeted specifically at dis- dence. First, summer programs that re- existence of three largely independent
advantaged students, they can serve to quired some form of parent involvement approaches to summer instruction asso-
close the gap in educational attainment. produced larger effects than programs ciated with different grade levels. For
without this component. Second, reme- example, Albuquerque Public Schools
The fourth conclusion of the meta- dial summer programs may have a larger (1985) described the results of interviews
analysis was that remedial summer pro- effect on math achievement than on read- with teachers following a summer pro-
grams have larger positive effects when ing. It is possible to interpret this finding gram for all students. The interviews
the program is run for a small number in relation to summer learning loss. Re- revealed elementary school teachers felt
of schools or dasses or in a small com- call that the review of summer loss re- summer school gave them the opportu-
munity, although even the largest pro- search revealed students' achievement nity to be more creative and to individu-
grams showed positive average effects. scores in math showed more of a drop alize instruction. Middle school teachers
The size-related program characteristics during summer than re-ading achievement said they emphasized study and organi-
may serve as proxies for associated differ- scores. If this is the case, then control- zational skills more than during regular
ences in local control of programs. That group students in summer school studies session. High school teachers, because
is, small programs may give teachers and likely received less practice in math than of the credit structure, taught classes in
administrators greater flexibility to tailor in reading. Thus, the difference in the ex- a manner that adhered most closely to
class content and instruction to the spe- periences of students not in summer pro- regular session classes. If these differences
cific needs of the students they serve and grams may explain the difference in in approaches to summer school hold
to their specific context. Small programs summer school effects. generally, we might expect the greatest
achievement gains in the earliest and lat-
IMPLICATIONS FOR
est grades because it is here that teachers Table 3
place the greatest emphasis on instruc-
Effectiveness of SUMMER SCHOOL
tion in subject matter. Summer school POLICIES AND
in the middle years may place more em- Summer School
phasis on the teaching of subject-related PRACTICES
study skills that eventually, but not im- The research results can be used
mediately, have an impact on achieve- to propose some guidelines to
ment outcome measures. Research reveals that policymakers and program
implementers concerning the funding,
Finally, summer programs that undergo Remedial summer school development, and operation of summer
careful scrutiny for treatment fidelity, programs have a positive schools. Most obviously, federal, state,
including monitoring to ensure that in- academic impact on and local policymakers should continue
struction is being delivered as pre- participants. to fund summer school programs. The
scribed, monitoring of attendance, and Summer school programs research demonstrates that summer
removal from the evaluation of students focusing on multiple goals programs are effective at improving the
with many absences may produce larger or acceleration also have a academic skills of students taking advan-
effects than unmonitored programs. positive impact on tage of them. Further, summer school
participants. likely has positive effects well beyond those
There were two findings of the meta- Summer school programs that have been measured in past research.
analysis that deserve mention because For example, summer programs may in-
have more positive effects
they did not reveal consistent or sig- hibit delinquency among idle youth.
on middle-class students
nificant results. First, there was incon-
than on students from
sistent evidence regarding whether or To ensure that summer programs are
how the achievement label given to disadvantaged
most effective and are accepted by the
students was associated with the backgrounds.
general public, policymakers should re-
amount of benefit they derived from The effect of remedial
quire that a significant portion of funds
remedial summer programs. As noted programs may diminish for summer school be spent on instruc-
earlier, one impetus for summer school over time. tion in mathematics and reading. For
is the federal mandate requiring that single-parent families and for families
extended-year services be available to Remedial summer programs in which both parents work outside the
children with disabilities. The meta- have larger positive effects home, summer school will serve a
analysis showed clear and reliable ben- childcare function. For children who
efits of summer school for these When the program is run live in high-crime and high-poverty
children, but these benefits appeared for a small number of areas, summer programs will provide
no greater in magnitude than the ben- students and schools in a safe and stimulating environments
efits for other students. small community. clearly preferable to the alternatives.
When the program Furthermore, summer programs are
Second, summer school remedial pro- proven vehicles to remedy, reinforce,
provides small-group or
grams that require attendance appeared and accelerate learning, and this oppor-
individual instruction.
no less effective, and perhaps are more tunity should not be missed.
When parent involvement
effective, than programs that were vol-
is required.
untary. While volunteering may serve Third, policymakers should set aside
as an indicator of motivation and en-
On math achievement than
funds for the specific purpose of foster-
gagement that would positively influ- on reading.
ing participation in summer programs,
ence the impact of the summer In early primary grades
especially participation by disadvantaged
program, it may be that compulsory at- and high school than in students. Summer programs often face
tendance requirements are associated middle grades. serious problems in attracting students
with student performance levels that are When they undergo careful and maintaining their attendance. They
most likely to benefit from summer scrutiny for treatment compete for youthful attention with al-
school activities. fidelity. ternative activities that are often more
attractive, but less beneficial. Even the
most well-conceived program would fail
if students chose not to enroll or attend.
Policymakers should earmark fimds for
6 7
transportation to and from summer pro- ticipation in the summer program it-
grams and for food service at the program Table 4 self so that teachers, administrators,
site. Policymakers might even make pro- aides, and support staff who took part
visions for siblings to attend summer pro-
Implications of in past years are given the first opportu-
grams so that parents will not keep older Research for nity to be involved again. Evaluations
brothers and sisters home to provide Summer School should be used to continue successful
childcare for younger family members. elements of a program, from site loca-
Policies and Practices tions to program content, and to dis-
Policymakers should offset the mandate continue unsuccessful ones.
for reading and math instruction by pro-
Finally, program implementers might
viding for significant local control con-
also consider integrating summer staff
cerning program delivery. The research Policymakers should development activities for teachers with
suggests the possibility that flexible
the teaching of summer school. The
delivery systems may lead to important Continue to fund relatively small classes and relaxed atmo-
contextual variations that significantly summer school sphere that many summer programs pro-
improve the outcomes of summer pro- programs. vide could make them an ideal
grams. Therefore, policymakers ought to Require that funds for laboratory for teachers to experiment
resist the temptation to micromanage summer school be spent with new curricula or pedagogical ap-
programs and give local schools and on instruction in proaches. For example, teachers might
teachers leeway in how to structure and
mathematics and learn about and discuss a new teaching
deliver programs.
reading. strategy in the afternoon and then prac-
Finally, policymakers should require rig-
Set aside funds for the tice the approach using the next
orous formative and summative evalua- purpose of fostering morning's summer school class. The cou-
tion of program outcomes. Credible participation in pling of staff development and summer
summer programs, teaching might also increase the pool of
evaluations provide the accountability
that is called for to justify expenditure especially by teachers interested in taking part.
of public funds. Policymakers can make disadvantaged students. Policymakers and practitioners might
a substantial contribution to future de- Provide for also consider more innovative ways of
cision making by requiring and provid- significant local control recasting summer school to take advan-
ing funds for systematic, ongoing concerning program tage of what the research reveals about
program evaluation. delivery. summer learning loss and successful
Require rigorous summer programs. For example, a
There are numerous suggestions for how formative and "Running Start" summer program
summer programs should be imple- summative evaluation might commence close to the begin-
mented that can be gleaned from the re- ning of the new school year rather than
of programs.
search. For example, surveys of teachers follow on the heels of the old year, as is
often point to a lack of planning time typical of many current programs. It
and late-arriving program materials as might also enlist the participation of
Practitioners should
two of the most severe impediments to regular classroom teachers, although
the success of a summer program. Thus, Plan early. they need not be full-time summer in-
just as policymakers need to provide Provide program and structors. Regular class teachers might
stable and continuing sources of funds function as the resource teacher who
staffing continuity from
for summer schools, program imple- pulls out students from the ongoing
year to year.
menters need to plan early. The prag- summer class routine. The teachers
Use evaluations to
matics of program operation will take would meet with, get to know, assess
on a higher priority as summer schools
identify successful sites
the strengths and weaknesses of, and be-
come to be seen less as "add-ons" and and program
gin instructing students who will be in
more as integral parts of the array of ser- content.
their class when the new regular ses-
vices provided by schools. Integrate summer sion begins. This strategy would seem
teaching with staff most beneficial for students who are
Related to planning is the need for pro-
development. struggling in school, need special atten-
gram implementers to provide conti-
nuity from year to year. Priority for tion, or have the potential to present
staffing should be based on past par- behavior problems when school begins.
This running start might smooth the REFERENCES Farley, R. (1996). The new American realior: Who
transition to the new school year by we are, how we got here, where we are going. New
Adams, M. J. (1991). Beginning to read:Think- York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
causing less time to be spent reviewing
ing and learning about print. Cambridge, MA:
material when classes begin and, MIT Press.
Heyns, B. (1978). Summer learning and the efflcts
of schooling. New York, NY: Academic Press.
hopefully, diminishing disruptions
Albuquerque Public Schools. (1985). What I did Mathews, J. (2000, June 13). A hot debate over
caused by struggling students. These
instead of summer vacation: A study of the APS summer school classes. TheWashington Post, p. A24.
outcomes should benefit all class mem- summer school program. Albequerque, NM: Al-
bers, not just the program participants. buquerque Public Schools. (ERIC Document Re- Mollison, A. & Brett, J. (1999, July 6). Now
production Service No. ED 281 932). more than ever, school's in for summer. The
CONCLUSION Association of California School Administra-
Atlanta Constitution, A 1 , A4.
tors (1988). A primer on year-round education. Mosteller, F. (1995). The Tennessee study of
The nine-month school calendar class size in early grades. Future ofChildren, 5(2),
Sacramento, CA: Author.
was adopted in America to 113-127.
accommodate the needs of a Austin, G. R., Rogers, B. G. & Walbesser,
H. H. (1972). The effectiveness of summer com- National Commission on Time and Learning.
family-based, agrarian economy. In ar- (1993). Research Findings. (ERIC Document
pensatory education: A review of the research.
eas of the country where the nine-month Review of Educational Research, 42,171-181. No. ED372491).
school did not fit the economy, summer Richmond, M. J. (1977). Issues in Year-Round
Chicago Public Schools (1997). Guidelines for
programs were quickly developed to pre- promotion in the Chicago public schools. Chicago Education. Hanover, MA: Christopher Publish-
vent the negative social behaviors asso- Public Schools: Chicago, IL. ing House.
ciated with idle youth. Educators soon Conant, J. B. (1959). The American High School. Wilgoren, J. (2000, July 5). Summer classes ex-
discovered the potential of summer pro- New York, NY: McGraw Hill. panding in push to improve skills. The New York
grams to improve learning. Summer Times, pp. Al, A14.
Cooper, G. & Sweller, J. (1987). Effects of
education programs were viewed as es- schema acquisition and .rule automation on
pecially attractive for children from mathematical problem-solving transfer. Journal
homes with limited resources and for of Educational Psychology, 79, 347-362.
ABOUT THE
students with special learning needs. Al- Cooper, H., Chalton, K., Valentine, J. & AUTHOR
though the benefit varies according to Muhlenbruck, L. (2000). Making the most of
characteristics of the child and program summer school. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Harris Cooper, Professor and Chair
content and delivery, the generally posi- Cooper, H., Nye, B., Charlton, K., Lindsay, J., of the Department of Psychologi-
tive effects of summer school for those & Greathouse, S. (1996). The effects of sum- cal Science at the University of Mis-
mer vacation on achievement test scores: A nar- souri-Colu mbia, received his
who participate are unmistakable.
rative and meta-analytic review. Review of Ph.D. in Social Psychology from
Educational Research, 66, 227-268. the University of Connecticut and
Dougherty, J. W. (1981). Summer school: A has been a visiting scholar at
new look. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa. Harvard University, Stanford Uni-
versity, the University of Oregon,
and the Russell Sage Foundation.
Dr. Cooper is widely recognized as
the nation's leading expert on
homework, and he has appeared
as a guest on NBC Dateline, the
ABOUT THE SERVE ORGANIZATION
Oprah Winfrey Show, and other
SERVE is an education organization with the mission to promote and support the
major television and radio news
continuous improveMent of educational opportunities for all learners in the
programs. Dr. Cooper writes on
Southeast. To further this mission, SERVE engages in research and development that
the policy implications of research
address education issues of critical importance to educators in the region and
concerning summer school, class
provides technical assistance to SEAs and LEAs that are striving for comprehensive
size, desegregation, and cortiora[--
school improvement. This critical research-to-practice linkage is supported by an
punishment, and he has published
experienced staff strategically located throughout the region. This staff is highly
two books on the process of con-
skilled in providing needs assessment services, conducting applied research in schools,
ducting research synthesis, as well
and developing processes, products, and programs that inform educators and increase
as over two dozen articles and book
student achievement.
chapters on the formation and ef-
fects of teacher expectations. Dr.
SERVE POLICY BRIEFS Cooper is a recipient of the Amen-
SERVE Policy Brief provide information on issues and topics in education. They are can Educational Research
intended for policymakers, educators, parents, and citizens. For more inforrpation Association's Interpretive Scholar-
about this and other SERVE Polity Brief, call SERVE Communications and ship Award and Early Career
Publications at 800-352-6001. Award for Programmatic Research.
BESTCOPYAVAILABLE 9
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