March/April, 2008 FORUM Article

 Highlighted Resources:
• NASDSE Report on Assistive Technology in Education

Summertime: When Young Minds Turn To Mush

According to The Center for Summer Learning:

• All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer.
• Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income students also lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains.
• Two-thirds of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college.

For sources and more information, visit this web site: www.summerlearning.org