This action research study examined the impact of a summer literacy program on summer reading setback. Gaining Ground is a summer intervention program designed primarily for economically disadvantaged students in Grades K-5. By granting access to self-selected books and implementing project-based curriculum, Gaining Ground aims to improve reading…

We examined the association of students' ability to transition on a daily basis (horizontal transitions) as reported by teachers with academic achievement as mediated by the summer Extended School Year (ESY) services received. Transitions from summer break to re-entry in the fall are referred to as a vertical transition. We examined these…

Problem Statement: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, students were negatively impacted academically and social-emotionally (Kuhfeld et al., 2020). Preexisting academic inequities were exacerbated, especially for students of color, students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and those from low-income backgrounds (Kuhfeld et al., 2022).…

Learning to read is an essential skill for later academic success, positive self-esteem, and gainful employment. Students who display reading difficulties/disabilities at the end of third grade are less likely to succeed in content areas and graduate from high school. Recent data suggests that many students in today's schools do not become skilled…

This report examines the beginning-of-year (BOY) reading performance of English learners (ELs) who attended summer school in June 2019. Summer school ELs' performance on the Texas Kindergarten Entry Assessment (TX-KEA) and iStation Indicators of Progress (ISIP) was compared to that of similar ELs who did not attend summer school. Spanish-speaking…

Over the past eight years, through examinations of school-administered reading assessments, Springboard has demonstrated internally that the average Springboard Summer scholar improves in reading during the program. Several partner school districts have compared Springboard scholars to their non-participating counterparts and found that, on…

Although research related to the Science of Reading has documented the positive effects of explicit, systematic reading instruction for all students, students from historically marginalized groups often experience differential opportunities to learn and are likely to perform lower than their peers on large scale measures of reading achievement.…

With business relations and international travel on the rise between China and English-speaking countries, the need for English teachers in China has also increased. One method of teaching English in China occurs through summer English camps. The research presented here examines the teacher, camp coordinator, student, and parent experience with a…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to analyze a First Grade Summer Jumpstart program after the first year of implementation to evaluate the effectiveness of the program to positively impact academic achievement in reading and math for first grade students. In order to achieve this overall objective, the following research questions framed…

This appendix provides additional details on the underlying data, statistical models, and results presented in "The Big Lift Descriptive Analyses: Progress across Three Kindergarten Classes." First the authors describe how they created each control and outcome variable and its source (e.g., parent report), followed by an overview of the…

The UPSTART Summer program is a federally funded i3 validation project that uses a computer-based program to maintain and develop the literacy skills of elementary school students in rural Utah during the summer months when school is out of session. Researchers used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the impact of the program in forestalling…

The Big Lift™ (Big Lift), a collective impact initiative extending from preschool through third grade in San Mateo County, California, aims to boost reading proficiency and kindergarten readiness through four programmatic pillars: High-Quality Preschool, Summer Learning, Attendance, and Family Engagement. In this report, the authors present…

"Literacy Strong All Year Long: Powerful Lessons for Grades K-2" equips educators of young children with engaging lessons that motivate students and help them develop the solid foundation of literacy skills essential to learning. Thoughtfully designed lessons linked to specific literacy standards create a seamless flow of learning…

Low-income and racial/ethnic minority children are at increased risk of experiencing summer reading loss or declined reading levels due to time away from school. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a 6-week summer reading program would help children maintain or improve reading levels. Four-hundred-fourteen African American and…

In the face of rising economic and social inequality, American parents increasingly seek to promote their children's academic achievement through provision of enriching learning opportunities. In this study, we hypothesized that parental investments in both home and out-of-home learning resources may partially explain socioeconomic disparities in…