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    Research Brief 04 - Cooper

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    Harris Cooper conducted research in the early 1990s that found students experience learning loss over the summer months, especially in math. His research showed that students from lower-income families experienced greater learning loss compared to middle-class students. Cooper's findings prompted him to recommend high-quality summer learning programs to prevent loss, especially for disadvantaged students, as well as policy changes like more flexible school calendars. However, implementing changes faces roadblocks from perceptions of how summer should be spent and economic interests benefitting from the status quo.

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    Research Brief 04 - Cooper

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    Harris Cooper conducted research in the early 1990s that found students experience learning loss over the summer months, especially in math. His research showed that students from lower-income families experienced greater learning loss compared to middle-class students. Cooper's findings prompted him to recommend high-quality summer learning programs to prevent loss, especially for disadvantaged students, as well as policy changes like more flexible school calendars. However, implementing changes faces roadblocks from perceptions of how summer should be spent and economic interests benefitting from the status quo.

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    Harris Cooper conducted research in the early 1990s that found students experience learning loss over the summer months, especially in math. His research showed that students from lower-income families experienced greater learning loss compared to middle-class students. Cooper's findings prompted him to recommend high-quality summer learning programs to prevent loss, especially for disadvantaged students, as well as policy changes like more flexible school calendars. However, implementing changes faces roadblocks from perceptions of how summer should be spent and economic interests benefitting from the status quo.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    30 views2 pages

    Research Brief 04 - Cooper

    Uploaded by

    api-249580631
    Harris Cooper conducted research in the early 1990s that found students experience learning loss over the summer months, especially in math. His research showed that students from lower-income families experienced greater learning loss compared to middle-class students. Cooper's findings prompted him to recommend high-quality summer learning programs to prevent loss, especially for disadvantaged students, as well as policy changes like more flexible school calendars. However, implementing changes faces roadblocks from perceptions of how summer should be spent and economic interests benefitting from the status quo.

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    R E S E A R C H

    I N

    B R I E F

    Researchers reflect on their work and share the results with you.

    More Than a Hunch: Kids Lose Learning Skills Over the Summer Months
    A personal experience can spark a theory that, in turn, prompts important research. Thats what happened when
    Harris Cooper, then a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, served on the Columbia, Missouri, school
    board. In the early 90s, the board was asked to discuss the local implications of a proposed federal cut in summer
    programming. Cooper, who suspected that the cutback was not a good idea, was unwilling to rubber-stamp the
    summer programming cut. He launched some research into summer learning, willing to follow wherever it led, and
    arrived at the overwhelming conclusion that his hunch was spot on. Summer learning loss is very real and has
    important repercussions in the lives of students, especially those with fewer financial resources.
    We spoke with Cooper, now a professor at Duke University,
    about his findings and how policymakers, program providers,
    and others should respond.
    Tell us about what prompted your research originally.
    While I was serving as a school board member, there was a
    threatened federal reduction in summer school support. I didnt
    think that seemed like a good way to save money, so after the
    meeting, I talked to some graduate students and said, Lets look
    at what happens over the summer. So we collected study results,
    conducting what is called a meta-analysis, and came up with
    some definite findings.
    And what did you discover?
    We found that kids do forget over the summer. Across the board,
    all kids lose some math skills. In reading, the middle class holds
    its own, but the poor lose reading and spelling skills, and that
    pattern emerged as a possible explanation for the academic

    RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICYMAKERS


    Integrate substantial math and reading components
    into the curricula.
    Include rigorous evaluations.
    Permit local control of curricula and delivery systems.

    PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICETIPS FOR PROGRAM PROVIDERS


    Begin summer program planning earlier in the year.
    Strive for continuity of staffing and programs across years.
    Combine summer programming with summer staff
    development opportunities.
    Begin integrating summer program experiences with
    those that occur during the regular school year.

    achievement gap between those who have financial resources


    and those who dont. We also found that summer learning programs
    have a significant positive effect, and those positive effects are
    greater for middle-class kids than for poor kids.
    How do you explain the income-related resultsthat summer
    programs seemed to be more effective for middle or higher
    income kids?
    We speculated that middle-class summer school programs may
    have better funding and resources. And it also may be simply
    that the problems of poor kids are much more entrenched and
    difficult to address, more remedial in nature.
    Some have proposed the faucet theory, which suggests that
    when summer comes around, academic resources for the poor are
    turned off. Middle-class and better-off parents, however, have the
    resources on their own to compensate to some degree and provide
    whatever their children might needremediation, enrichment,
    or acceleration-type activities when school is not in session.
    You also found that there was a larger overall negative effect
    on math skills than reading skills. How do you explain that?
    Reading practice is more naturally embedded in a childs
    environment, and parents know how to pay attention to keeping
    kids reading over the summer. Theyre less likely to pay attention
    to math.
    Isnt it really just common sense that if you dont practice a skill,
    you lose it, and that would apply to academic skills as well?
    It seems like common sense except for the fact that so many
    people question the value of it and look at summer learning as
    something optional or disposable.

    One of your findings was that closely monitored programs


    produced larger effects. What does this mean, particularly
    for someone running or working in a program?
    Thats an odd finding that suggests its really a proxy for something else, probably the degree of conscientiousness associated
    with program implementation. It would involve ensuring that
    summer instructors have experience, training, and resources
    available in a timely fashion, as well as clear expectations.
    Given the findings, what would you recommend that program
    practitioners and policymakers do to prevent summer
    learning loss?
    We ought to start thinking outside the box about the arrangement
    of school day and year and try to build in greater flexibility
    depending upon the childs and familys needs. Summer programs
    should wrap up close to the beginning of the school year in
    order to prevent summer learning loss, and summer programs
    should be well-planned to complement the school year, not
    necessarily more of the same or an afterthought.
    How would you answer people who say that having children
    attend summer programs is repressive or keeps kids from
    exploring and having fun?
    We need to dispense with romanticized notions associated with
    the traditional summer break, look at whats really going on,
    and consider the consequences. Lots of kids get bored over
    summer. Poor children spend lots of time unsupervised and with
    limited resources for any constructive activity. Also, most summer
    programs are optional, so theres really no coercion, and I think
    that you need to build flexibility into the system.

    General Pattern of Reading Achievement for Students


    From Different Income Groups
    Achievement Test Scores

    Based upon what your research has shown, what are your personal
    ideas on what constitutes a high-quality summer program?
    Small, individualized programs with parental involvement were
    all associated with greater effectiveness. Summer affords more
    freedom to digress from a prescribed curriculum, so you can
    study at a more leisurely, individualized pace, especially when
    dealing with younger children. Also, small programs may be
    more nimble, making them more efficient at planning, decisionmaking, and using available resources.

    Middle-class students

    Disadvantaged students

    Regular School Year

    Summer Vacation

    Regular School Year

    Cooper et al, conducted a meta-analysis, which is a review and synthesis of multiple research
    studies. They reviewed 93 evaluations of summer school programs serving grades K through 12,
    and also reviewed qualitative data from the program evaluations, including interviews with
    teachers, parents, and administrators.
    Note: The above is a generalized representation from all studies reviewed.

    What kinds of local, state, and national policies should be


    implemented to address summer learning loss?
    Harking back to my school board member experience, I would
    say that parents who are happy or enthusiastic about innovation
    are the best salespeople to other parents, so get them involved
    and reach out to policymakers. I would also promote rigorous
    evaluations, local control, and incentive funds for pilot programs.
    What do you see as the biggest roadblock to making
    progress in the area of summer learning?
    People have a vision of what summer vacation ought to be that may
    not coincide with the reality for most kids. The other influence
    could be that there are some economic interests involved in keeping
    the summer the way it is. Amusement parks and summer camps, for
    example, would need to adjust if school-based policies changed.
    What do you see as the best way to address roadblocks?
    Funds should be set aside to foster participation in summer
    programs, especially among disadvantaged youth, and we need
    to start funding pilot projects and put some possible solutions
    to the test.

    WHAT HAPPENS TO STUDENTS OVER THE SUMMER:


    At best, students showed little or no academic growth
    over summer. At worst, students lost one to three months
    of learning.
    Summer loss was somewhat greater in math than reading.
    Summer loss was greatest in math computation and spelling.
    For disadvantaged students, reading scores were
    disproportionately affected and the achievement gap
    between rich and poor widened.

    Duke University Professor Harris Cooper


    REFERENCES
    Cooper, H., Charlton, K., Valentine, J. C., & Muhlenbruck, L. (2000). Making the most of summer
    school. A meta-analytic and narrative review. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child
    Development, 65 (1, Serial No. 260), 1-118.
    Cooper, H., Nye, B., Charlton, K., Lindsay, J., & Greathouse, S. (1996). The effects of summer
    vacation on achievement test scores: A narrative and meta-analytic review. Review of Educational
    Research, 66, 227-268.

    www.summerlearning.org
    800 Wyman Park Drive, Suite 110
    Baltimore, MD 21211-2837

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