The Impacts of Summer Learning Loss

At the beginning of each year when students are returning to school, there is a noticeable decline in students’ knowledge of what they were learning before the summer break. Students’ scores are lower when they return to school, which means that teachers have to spend time re-teaching areas before they can move on — time which could be spent learning about new topics. This decline in learning is known as ‘summer learning loss’ or ‘summer slide.’ Keep reading to learn more about summer learning loss, and what parents can do to minimise it for their children.

Why Does Summer Learning Loss Happen?

Just like other parts of the body, the brain needs to be exercised to keep it performing at its best. If you play a sport and take a six-week break, chances are you won’t be performing at quite the same level as you were before the break. The same can be said of the brain. While it can be tempting, if a student spends all summer avoiding any academic or creative pursuits, they will see a decline in their knowledge when they return to school the following year, and substantial revision study needs to be done to get back to the required level.

How Does it Affect Students?

Studies have shown that typically, students will lose up to 2 months of learning around English based subjects, and up to 3 months of mathematic subjects over the summer holidays. This can have a detrimental impact on their academic performance at school, which can in turn affect their confidence in learning.  When students lose confidence in their abilities, they become more hesitant to take advantage of learning opportunities.

What Can be Done to Minimise it?

The good news is you won’t have to spend your summer playing teacher to your children. Preventing learning loss can take up as little as one or two, 20-to-30-minute sessions per week. When people think study, they often think of sitting at a desk reading or writing but learning over summer doesn’t have to be this way. Get creative with it! Take the whole family to the zoo and read about all the different animals, find some educational apps that your kids can play during screen time, or start a summer reading challenge with rewards. The possibilities are endless.

123 Tuition Can Help You Avoid the Summer Slide

123 Tuition’s tutoring service is the perfect solution to minimise summer learning loss, with straight forward lessons that can be easily slotted into a busy family life; just once or twice a week for 20 to 30 minutes. Adopting new technology as it has developed over more than 35 years has allowed us to provide high quality learning tools for families, but at prices that are a fraction of the cost of a private tutor or tutor centres, with the added convenience of being home-based. Our unique, cloud-based, personalised online learning system puts us at the forefront of the home-learning market for maths, English & literacy. We can provide student learning support all through summer, with access to tailored programmes and teachers when you need them, putting your children in the best possible position to start the new school year. Get in touch with us today!