Summer learning loss or summer slide has been a concern among educators and parents for years. Research has shown that throughout the summer months, students can lose a significant amount of the math and reading skills they gained over the school year. Further research has shown how summer can also widen the achievement gap between students from low-income households and their middle-class peers, who have more opportunities for enrichment over the summer months. 

In their recent 2020 study, “School’s out: The role of summers in understanding achievement disparities,” researchers examined test scores among students in Grades 1-8 to examine summer learning loss. They found that, on average, students lost 17 to 28% of their school-year ELA gains during the following summer (Atteberry and McEachin, 2020). 

The research on summer learning loss, paired with research on the steep decline in daily reading and reading for pleasure among children and teens, presents even greater concerns. A recent survey conducted by NAEP found that the percentage of 13-year-olds who say they read for fun almost every day was lower this year than in any previous assessment year, with only 14% of those surveyed saying they read for fun almost every day and 31% saying they never or hardly ever read for fun (NAEP, 2023). An unsurprising factor contributing to this decline is the increase in technology-related media use among children and teens.

According to a survey from Common Sense Media in 2022, between 2019 and 2021, social media among kids and teens was a little over 5.5 hours a day for ages 8-12 and a little more than 8.5 hours a day for teens. This was a 17 percent increase from data they collected between 2015-2019, with the biggest increase attributed to kids and teens watching online videos. They also found that only about a third of kids ages 8-12 and one in five teens reported reading for pleasure daily. While the pandemic may have played a role in contributing to the increase, social media platforms like TikTok have also had an effect on increased media usage. 

The results from the latest NAEP report card have only validated these concerns. According to the results from the NAEP Reading Assessment, 60% of US states saw a decrease in 8th-grade informational text literacy in 2022, with only 29% of the nation’s 8th graders at or above a proficient reading level (NAEP, 2022). 

Benefits of Reading for Fun

Research from the National Literacy Trust has highlighted the positive relationship between reading for pleasure and literacy outcomes. A number of prior studies conducted have also shown that reading for pleasure among children is positively linked to improved reading comprehension skills and writing abilities, vocabulary expansion, positive reading attitudes, and greater self-confidence in reading– not to mention the increase in background knowledge and world awareness of students who read for fun. 

Along with reading for pleasure, the amount of reading a student does also impacts their achievement. Research dating back to the 1980s has shown a strong correlation between the amount of time students spent reading outside of school and reading achievement (Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding, 1988). 

Recently, the NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results found similar results. Fifty-one percent of 13-year-olds who scored at or above the 75th percentile reported reading for fun at least once a week, whereas only 28% of the students below the 25th percentile reported reading for fun at least once a week (NAEP, 2023). Simply put, students who read more often are better readers than those who do not.

So, how can educators and families work together to build habits of reading during the school year so that students are more inclined to practice daily reading throughout the summer?

Reading and Engagement

Research has shown the correlation between reading engagement and achievement, so providing students with daily opportunities for independent reading throughout the school year allows students to better engage in their reading and make meaning from the text. It is also important to provide students with choice in what they are reading so they can build their reading identity and lifelong reading habits. 

Educators and caregivers can encourage students to set reading goals for the summer so students are motivated around reading. Caregivers can also model reading habits for their children by dedicating time in the day for family reading. 

Using The Juice to Build Daily Reading Habits

The Juice delivers five engaging short-form articles five days a week, making it a great tool to support summer reading and build daily habits of reading. The Juice also provides articles at four unique reading levels, so families can learn about the news and engage in discussion around a common text. 

Real World Content

The Juice’s foundation builds on the premise that two of the main drivers behind student engagement are a) content relevance and b) students’ self-efficacy beliefs that they can achieve. Students are also more likely to engage when the text makes a real-world connection with their concerns and interests (Byrd, 2016). The articles in The Juice empower educators and caregivers to tap into students’ interests by providing real-world content.

Choice in Content

Another key aspect of The Juice’s approach is the premise that facilitating options for students to make their own choices about what they prefer to read encourages autonomy (Goodwin, 2010). Research shows that having an environment rich in reading options is essential for supporting readers (Gambrell, 1996). The Juice empowers students to choose which content they are most interested in with 25 new informational texts each week and access to a library with 2000+ texts. Each day’s content in The Juice draws from subjects across the disciplines, including breaking news, world news, environment, health, economics, technology, sports, humanities, and articles highlighting SEL and moral character. 

Download the handout here.

Resources:

Anderson, R. C., Wilson, P. T., & Fielding, L. G. (1988). Growth in Reading and How Children Spend Their Time Outside of School. Reading Research Quarterly, 23(3), 285–303. 

Atteberry, A., & McEachin, A. (in press, 2020). School’s out: The role of summers in understanding achievement disparities. American Educational Research Journal.

Byrd, Christy M. “Does Culturally Relevant Teaching Work? An Examination From Student Perspectives.” SAGE Open, July 2016, doi:10.1177/2158244016660744.

Common Sense Media (2021). “The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens.”

Gambrell, L.B (1996). Creating classroom cultures that foster reading motivation. The Reading Teacher, 50, 14-25

Goodwin, B. (2010). Research says: Choice is a matter of degree. Educational leadership, 68(1), 80-81.

Kim, James S., White, Thomas G. (2011). “Solving the Problem of Summer Reading Loss.”  Kappan Magazine (2011): 64-67

National Center for Education Statistics (2022). Nation’s report card. National Assessment of Educational Progress.

National Center for Education Statistics (2023). NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics. National Assessment of Educational Progress.