Is the Summer Slide Real?

At a minimum learning either slides backwards or slows. Meta analyses on reading show student losses vary from 17% to 28%, 2 weeks to 2 months. Kindergartners and 1st graders show the biggest loss because that is when they are learning the foundational skills. Students can make gains if they are actively participating in summer school (some offer 70 hours of instruction 4 hours a day), tutoring 2-4 times a week, or supervised daily teaching by parents at home 5 days/week one hour a day.

Most students read less than 15 minutes per day (54%); 28% read 15-29 minutes; 18% read 30+ minutes. 15 minutes seems to be the “magic number” at which students start seeing substantial positive gains in reading achievement; students who read just over a half-hour to an hour per day see the greatest gains of all.