Summer Matters

How Summer Learning Strengthens Students’ Success

June 2, 2016

Unequal access to summer learning and enrichment opportunities is a significant factor in the achievement gap between low-income students and their higher-income peers.

This study describes how summer learning programs that provide high quality, engaging enrichment activities are a promising solution to this challenge and can help to narrow our unacceptable achievement gap.

Executive Summary

This study examines the ways in which summer programs in three different parts of our state — Fresno, Sacramento and Los Angeles — benefited children and their families. The study addresses a gap in the existing literature on summer programs in California by examining the extent to which youth attending high quality, academically, socially and physically enriching summer programs demonstrate improved pro-social attachments, academic self-efficacy and motivation, and English Language Arts proficiency.

In Los Angeles, LA’s BEST, a community-based organization, leads summer enrichment programs for children in elementary and middle school. Summer Matters sites use a set of thematically-based, week-long curricular units that incorporate hands-on activities that focus on building youths’ literacy skills.
The Fresno Central Enrichment Summer Adventures (CESA) program is led by the Fresno County Office of Education at the Central Unified School District. Each summer, CESA focuses on a single book, organizing academic, enrichment, and recreational activities around the book’s characters and themes.
The Summer of Service program in Sacramento is led by the District’s Youth Development Supportive Services office. Summer of Service programs utilize a service-learning model, with a goal of increasing youth’s school connectedness, understanding of civic responsibility, and engagement with their communities to support healthy lifestyles and environmental issues.

In the three Summer Matters communities profiled here, we find that youth made substantial improvements in their grade-level vocabulary skills, strengthened their connections to peers and adults, and sustained their academic habits and attitudes.

Improved Academic Efficacy and Sustained Academic Performance

Participants ended the summer with vocabulary skills much closer to their grade level, increasing their Instructional grade level by over 1/3 of a grade on the San Diego Quick vocabulary assessment.
English Learners across communities demonstrated statistically significant increases in their grade-level vocabulary skills, a gateway to English language fluency.
Youth in Fresno and Los Angeles report increased academic work habits and reading efficacy, key contributors to academic achievement.
Parents report that youth improved both their attitude towards reading (68%) and reading ability (62%).

Positive Relationships with Peers and Adults

In Fresno, summer program participants were one-third less likely to be chronically absent in fall 2012 than their peers, indicating much greater engagement with school.
Summer Matters participants demonstrated high and sustained school day attendance rates, which is critical for youth to succeed in school.
In focus groups, parents report programs help youth prepare for the challenge of transitioning from elementary to middle school, a period when many youth begin to disengage from school.
Nine out of ten parents report that the summer programs help their children to make new friends and get along better with other children. These social skills will help youth be more successful in school and beyond.
Youth report that they have positive relationships with adults in the program and enjoy Summer Matters activities, reflecting the design of the programs.

Program Quality

The quality of summer enrichment programs matters: youth who report high quality experiences in summer also report stronger work habits, reading efficacy, and social skills.
Summer Matters programs are particularly good at providing engaging and interesting activities for youth while helping them to build strong, positive, relationships with peers and adults.
Nearly all parents (98%) are satisfied with their children’s summer program.

Based on these findings, this report concludes that summer learning programs are helping to sustain and improve academic skills, build strong connections to peers and adults, and reinforce positive work habits and attitudes.

Similar Resources

Diving Into Summer Learning ProgramsDecember 11, 2017 - 11:49 pm
Summer learning programs are distinctively different from traditional summer school programs. For Nazaneen Khalilnaji-Otto, the Summer Matters campaign director at the Partnership for Children and Youth, one word sums up the difference between the summer learning model and summer school: “fun.” Summer learning takes on a “camp-like culture,” and these programs are generally open to all students, rather than only students seeking remedial or advanced coursework.
Last Chance to Nominate a Summer SuperheroSeptember 20, 2017 - 9:21 pm
Do you know a Superintendent who has demonstrated extraordinary support for summer learning programs during the time between September 2016-September 2017? Can you help us find and celebrate this superhero? Summer Matters is looking for nominations for our Superhero award, given each year to California Superintendents who make summer learning matter in their districts.
2017 Summer Matters Road Trip Media CoverageAugust 25, 2017 - 10:31 pm
The Summer Matters Road Trip was huge this year! We traveled to programs in 15 different cities, spreading the word about the importance of summer learning. But don’t take our word for it, check out the media coverage of several of the stops on the road trip.

The hands-on activities that the staff create get the youth engaged. Staff are both professional and playful with the youth in the program.

-Summer Program Parent

About the Summer Matters Campaign

The Summer Matters Campaign is part of the Packard Foundation’s summer enrichment strategy, an initiative to expand and improve summer learning programs for young people in California, with a focus on children most in need.

Since 2009, the Campaign has worked with a network of summer learning communities to build living, on-the-ground models of high-quality summer programming in order to demonstrate and ultimately replicate high quality programs across the state. The 12 Summer Matters communities share a common commitment to:

Incorporating youth-focused reading and writing activities to combat summer learning loss;
Retaining students in engaging, safe activities throughout the summer; and
Promoting healthy, active lifestyles.

The programs considered in this study, all part of the Summer Matters initiative, were selected based on the quality of the programming they offer, and because they collectively represent a variety of program models. The three programs serve primarily youth from low-income communities, who traditionally have limited access to enriching summer experiences. The programs are taught by program staff, most of whom also work with the organization’s’ after school programs. Credentialed teachers also play roles in planning, training and coaching staff, and teaching.

Current Research

Studies show that the achievement gap between low- and middle-income youth is largely related to differences in opportunity during the summer. By the fifth grade, low-income children are 3 years behind their higher income peers in reading.The gap grows as children experience different opportunities in the summer.

A 15-year longitudinal study found that as much as two-thirds of the difference between low-income and middle-income youth in key academic success measures, such as participation in advanced coursework, high school dropout, and college completion rates, can be traced back to summer learning loss that occurred during elementary school.

Part of this alarming trend can be explained by a meta-analysis from the RAND Corporation, which found that, “Children from lower-income families lost, on average, more learning specifically in reading comprehension and word recognition than children from higher-income families (who, in fact, made gains in word recognition)… Most disturbing is that it appears that summer learning loss is cumulative and that, over time, these periods of differential learning rates between low-income and higher income students contribute substantially to the achievement gap. It may be that efforts to close the achievement gap during the school year alone will be unsuccessful.”

High-quality summer enrichment programs can help schools address summer learning loss. The Afterschool Alliance (2010) describes well-designed summer learning programs as those that increase achievement, enhance motivation for and engagement in learning, and develop and nurture new skills and talents.

Closing the achievement gap requires both the objective to accelerate learning and a commitment to youth development. One example of a program effectively combining the two elements is the Better Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) Summer Program. The BELL Summer Program has demonstrated children participating over one summer not only develop a better attitude towards learning and gain 3 months or more in literacy and math skills, but also develop an improved self-concept.

Summer learning loss is cumulative:

As much as 2/3 of the difference between low- and middle-income youth in academic success measures traces back to summer learning loss.
Differential learning rates between low-income and higher-income students result in an achievement gap.

Summer programs emphasizing both academic and social enrichment lead to positive outcomes for students, including:

Higher school-year attendance
Increased motivation
Increased feelings of belonging
Less risky behavior

In contrast with the traditional remedial summer school model, summer programs emphasizing both academic and social components lead to positive outcomes for students: higher school year attendance and achievement, increased motivation to learn, increased feelings of belonging, and reduced participation in risky behavior. These positive outcomes are most likely to result when programs begin in the early grades, are offered over multiple summers, and focus on prevention and development rather than remediation.

Ensuring access to summer learning opportunities is particularly important for low-income youth. While parents from higher-income families are likely to have the means to provide enriching and exciting activities for their children, for most low-income parents, this is not the case. Instead, children in low-income communities may spend the summer without the chance to attend enriching programs.

Theory of Action

This study is guided by a Theory of Action which posits that summer learning programs can have a strong positive impact on children’s learning and development, leading to increased academic self-efficacy and motivation, which in turn contributes to higher academic performance. Youth are most likely to benefit when they are regularly attending a high quality program.

Evaluation Methodology

Drawing from prior research, this study explores the extent to which youth enrolled in enriching, experiential summer programs demonstrate improved or sustained prosocial attachments, academic self-efficacy, motivation, and English Language Arts skills.

The study is organized according to four evaluation questions; and bases its findings on survey, interview and observational inputs at the point of service, as well as, reviews of data from the programs.

Introduction to the Communities

The Summer Matters programs in Fresno, Los Angeles and Sacramento were selected for in-depth study because of their high-quality programs and youth population served.

In summer 2012, Fresno served 394 middle-school-aged youth; Los Angeles served 1,380 elementary-aged youth; and Sacramento served 333 middle-school-aged youth.

Los Angeles

The Summer Matters program in Los Angeles is administered by LA’s BEST – a local after school partner with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The LA’s BEST summer programs use a project-based approach emphasizing active learning, engaging activities, relationship building and creating safe spaces. The summer program includes wellness, language arts, and building connections to the outdoors. LA’s BEST offers summer programs at 89 sites across the city; 12 are considered in this report.

“As you…move around the sites, you see that the theme is built on expanding literacy and connecting youth to the outdoors through traveling, getting kids to develop language and reading skills, etc. That was …why we wanted a project-based approach. ”

– Program Leader

Features of Population Served:

90% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch
32% of students were English Learners in 2012

Program strengths observed on site by the evaluation team include:

LA’s BEST summer programs have an emphasis on literacy, health, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Students are engaged in hands-on, kinesthetic activities that are made relevant to young people using a unique theme at each site.
Program staff are involved in advanced program planning, orientation and lesson planning, which is important to ensure staff have a voice in programmatic design and feel comfortable with the content and curriculum.
Student alumni come back after graduation to volunteer in the program.
Built-in opportunities for parents to interact with staff occur at the sign-in and out times.
Staff represent community diversity, and are culturally competent.

Fresno

Fresno administers the Central Enrichment Summer Adventures (CESA) program through the Fresno County Office of Education at the Central Unified School District. Fresno CESA is built upon a structure emphasizing reading retention, STEM, fitness, nutrition, and out of doors experience. The program is centered around a single theme, which changes yearly based on a selected book read by all youth in the program. The program is situated on a single high school campus site, where, according to one program leader, “students enter the land of whatever book they are reading.”

“Because one of our end goals is to spark an interest in reading… For those that are not avid readers [we are] teaching them how to experience reading from a different level.”

– Program Leader

Features of Population Served:

65% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch
8% of students were English Learners in 2012

Program strengths observed on site include:

CESA has a strong focus on literacy, STEM, and health that uses a cohesive book-related theme to thread highly engaging learning opportunities into each class, while promoting a strong culture of creative learning throughout.
CESA emphasizes transitioning from middle to high school, and the program is hosted on the high school campus.
The County Office of Education partners with the California Teaching Fellows Foundation, preparing future educators through a variety of academic and cultural experiences that enhance leadership and professionalism, building greater awareness of the social context of schools and ensuring quality teachers for all students. This fosters a low student to adult ratio, as each student group has at least two adult co-instructors.
CESA staff conduct reading assessments at the start of summer; youth are grouped into three groups based on their assessed literacy level.
Staff represent community diversity, and are culturally competent.

Sacramento

Sacramento City Unified School District “Summer of Service” programs use a service-learning model, with a goal of increasing youth’s school connectedness, understanding of civic responsibility, and engagement with their communities to support healthy lifestyles and environmental issues. Summer of Service is administered through the school district’s Youth Development Supportive Services office. Summer programs in this report are offered at eight middle school sites.

“The approach to teaching the children is perfect for summer. My son calls it “camp” not summer school. Every day when I pick my son up he is super excited to tell me about the day’s activities! Love it!!”

-Summer Program Parent

Features of Population Served:

73% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch
25% of students were English Learners in 2012

Program strengths observed on site include:

The program integrates student projects in and around their local community through a service-learning curriculum that is used with youth of all ages.
The service-learning projects are youth driven, with students facilitating end of year showcases where parents and community members can see the results.
The program provides targeted support for students who are transitioning from middle to high school, and promotes a strong, inclusive culture.
Staff represent community diversity, and are culturally competent.

Improved Academic Efficacy & Sustained Academic Performance

Students succeed academically when they have strong academic skills, effective work habits, and confidence in their abilities as learners. Summer Matters programs provide support for each of these assets, with a particular focus on students’ literacy.

Participants improved or sustained their work habits, confidence (“academic efficacy”), and academic skills and achievement.

Key Findings:

Participants ended the summer with vocabulary skills much closer to their grade level, increasing their Instructional grade level by over 1/3 of a grade on the San Diego Quick vocabulary assessment.
English Learners across communities demonstrated statistically significant increases in their grade-level vocabulary skills, a gateway to English language fluency.
Youth in Fresno and Los Angeles report increased academic work habits and reading efficacy, key contributors to academic achievement.
Parents report that youth improve both their attitude towards reading (68%) and reading ability (62%).

“They help them spark an interest in leadership, expanding their learning by doing various activities. They are learning while having fun.”

– Summer Program Parent

SAN DIEGO QUICK ASSESSMENT (SDQA)

We only learn what we can comprehend. Vocabulary is the cornerstone of reading comprehension, which is in turn the foundation of mastery of nearly all academic content. To measure participants’ vocabulary skills, Summer Matters programs administered the San Diego Quick Assessment (SDQA).

The SDQA has three scores:

Independent: The grade level at which a student can read words with little assistance. Measured by the grade level list in which a young person reads with up to one error.
Instructional: The grade level at which a student can read words with some adult assistance, equivalent to her/his zone of proximal development. Measured by the grade level list in which a young person makes up to two mistakes in pronunciation.
Frustration: The grade level at which a student struggles to decode and pronounce words, her/his “outer edge.” Measured by the grade level list in which a young person misses three or more words.

Summer Matters participants demonstrate a statistically significant increase in grade-level vocabulary at all three levels of the SDQA. On average, Summer Matters participants ended the summer with vocabulary skills much closer to their grade level, improving their school readiness.

Notably, program participants in Sacramento improved their Independent vocabulary level by nearly one and a half grade levels over the course of a 6-week program.

This pattern repeats when we consider SDQA scores by students’ grade level.

When participants’ “outer edge” – their Frustration Level – is considered, we find that students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in their grade level vocabulary; these gains are particularly notable among middle-school aged youth, who were most likely to start the summer with below-grade vocabulary skills.

“My [child] is excited to come to [the program]…every day they learn something new.”

– Summer Program Parent

English Learner participants across communities also demonstrated increases in their Instructional and Frustration Levels of about half a grade level, though they tend to have lower overall grade-level vocabulary skills than their English-speaking peers.

When we compare the change in grade level vocabulary among English Learners and their peers, we find that the two groups demonstrated the same rate of growth in the Frustration and Instructional levels. English Learners demonstrated a smaller gain in their Independent grade level vocabulary than their peers, however.

Youth report high and sustained academic work habits and reading efficacy, key contributors to academic achievement. These results are drawn from the UCI Summer Outcome Measures Survey, designed to assess youth skill development and positive behavior and administered at the start and end of summer.

In summer 2012, youth in Fresno increased their positive response rate from pre-to-post test by two percentage points (66% to 68%); in Los Angeles, by five percentage points (63% to 68%).

When asked about their confidence and interest in reading (i.e., reading efficacy), respondents in Fresno increased their positive responses by five percentage points (51% to 56%); in Los Angeles, by three percentage points (64% to 67%).

Similarly, parents report improved outcomes in both participants’ overall interest in school and in reading ability.

When asked about the best components of the program in focus groups, parents emphasize programmatic strengths including:

Educational content and program structure mixing “fun” activities with academic activities lead to academic skill building.
The prevalence of reading and literacy activities in the curriculum.

For example, in the Fresno focus group, parents attribute kids’ improved attitude toward reading to the program environment: Summer Matters offers an environment with less pressure, and more fun, than in the school year. Parents add that their children are even more engaged in reading since the featured book for the summer is popular with youth.

‘She is an avid reader. Now…she is almost finished with the book…and I am into it too and we are talking about it at home. She is saying, “Mom – wait ‘til you get to hear about this character!”

– Summer Program Parent

District Benchmark Results

The evaluation team also considered the impact of summer learning programs on participants’ benchmark scores. Most California school districts administer these formative assessments that are aligned with school curricula to provide educators with real-time information about students’ mastery of curricular content.

We found mixed results when analyzing change in the proportion of youth at or above grade level on English Language Arts benchmark assessments between fall 2011 and fall 2012, and spring 2012 and fall 2012. Given that tests are unique to each district, and have changed between 2011 and 2012, the mixed findings are unsurprising.

Positive Relationships with Peers and Adults

Summer Matters programs help youth develop strong social skills necessary to succeed in school and in life. When young people feel connected to peers and adults in their school community, they are more likely to attend school regularly.

Too often in low-income communities, young people have limited opportunities to explore their communities and to learn new things. Helping young people to expand their horizons and explore their talents helps build strong pro-social attachments, as well.

Key Findings:

In Fresno, summer program participants were one-third less likely to be chronically absent in fall 2012 than their peers, indicating much greater engagement with school.
Summer Matters participants demonstrated high and sustained school day attendance rates, which are critical for youth to succeed in school.
In focus groups, parents report programs help youth prepare for the challenge of transitioning from elementary to middle school, a period when many youth begin to disengage from school.
Nine out of ten parents report that summer programs help their children to make new friends and get along better with other children. These skills will help youth be more successful in school and beyond.
Youth report that they have positive relationships with adults in the program and enjoy Summer Matters activities, reflecting the design of the programs.

Youth participated in a poster contest in which they described – through words, pictures, or both – why “summer matters to me.” The most common themes referenced by participants align closely to the structure of summer programs’ design to promote positive social skills and to expand children’s horizons by providing fun, engaging activities.

As noted elsewhere in this report, it is unlikely that many Summer Matters participants would have had similar experiences if they hadn’t been in these programs. Most parents report that their child would be at home if they weren’t at Summer Matters.

The following poster from a participant at LA’s BEST exemplifies key themes in youth posters across communities, including references to:

Having fun
New experiences and learning opportunities
Youth engagement with the program

These programmatic characteristics are associated with further development in academic-self efficacy, prosocial development and motivation.

A poster from a participant in Fresno CESA includes several references to both learning and literacy, reflecting the focus of the Summer Matters programs.

About six in ten youth report high and sustained social assets in Summer Matters programs. Fifty-six percent (56%) of Summer Matters participants reported strong social competencies at the start of the summer, rising slightly to 60%. These youth reported that they had a variety of social skills, such as getting along with kids their age and telling others what they think.

Similarly, youth report fairly limited misconduct both at the start and end of the summer enrichment program. About 20% of participants reported that they engaged in behaviors such as taking things from others or fighting, falling to 15% in end-of-summer surveys.

These results suggest that some youth improved their behavior while in Summer Matters programs, and that the majority sustained their positive behavior while engaging in positive pursuits during the summer months.

Parents and caregivers also believe that their children improve their relationships with adults and peers at Summer Matters.

In focus groups, parents note that the program provides an environment in which youth can “open up.” This is largely credited to staff, who parents say are upbeat, understanding and effective role models.

Further, parents emphasize that they appreciate their children are in a school-based program.

Parents report this is valuable because:

Youth are able to see their current friends;
Youth can make new friends during summer months, and
Youth transitioning from middle to high school build stronger social networks, which eases the transition between grades.

Parents suggest that the high level of social engagement means that their children are self-motivated and excited to attend. Speaking to the high level of engagement, on more than one occasion, parents offered the same example: children woke up before their parents on program days.

Kids are more likely to consistently come to these programs because they have fun, build positive relationships with peers and staff, and are excited to attend. This provides more opportunities to build skills, and improve self-efficacy, motivation and English Language Arts proficiency.

“My son was timid in Kindergarten, now he is in 1st grade and volunteers in class.”

– Summer Program Parent

“[My child] is facing a lot of changes with transitioning into middle school next year. This program has given him the opportunity to meet new friends with whom he will be attending his new school.”

– Summer Program Parent

Parents reported that program staff interacted well with them, as well, indicating a commitment to family engagement and to culturally competent practice.

Youth who feel like they belong at school, and who experience academic success, are much more likely to attend often. And students who attend school regularly are far more likely to do well on standardized tests and to complete high school. We use school day attendance as a key measure of students’ social attachments and sense of academic self-efficacy.

Summer Matters participants in Sacramento demonstrated a one-percentage point, statistically significant increase in school day attendance rate between 2011-12 and fall 2012. Youth in Fresno and Los Angeles demonstrated high and sustained school day attendance rates.

Chronic absence, defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, is another indicator of youths’ connectedness with the school day. Students who are chronically absent from school are more likely to perform poorly in class and to drop out of high school. We report on chronic absence here as a “warning sign” for future challenges among elementary and middle school-aged youth.

In Fresno, we find that summer program participation decreases the likelihood of chronic absence, as CESA summer program participants are one-third less likely to be chronically absent in the 2012-13 school year than similar peers who did not attend.

This pattern did not hold in Sacramento, in which summer program participants were equally likely to be chronically absent than their peers. Comparison data are not available for Los Angeles.

“This is a wonderful program. They teach the children respect for others and themselves; also how to get along with all types of other children. This program keeps kids off the street and learning all summer long. Excellent program.”

– Summer Program Parent

Program Quality

Young people are most likely to benefit when they participate in well-planned, engaging, and youth-centered programs that are physically and emotionally safe. Program quality is supported through organizational practices like staff training, curricular development and budget management.

Key Findings:

The quality of summer enrichment programs matters: youth who report high quality experiences in summer also report stronger work habits, reading efficacy, and social skills.
Summer Matters programs are particularly good at providing engaging and interesting activities for youth while helping them to build strong, positive, relationships with peers and adults.
Nearly all parents (98%) are satisfied with their children’s summer program.

Program quality is assessed using the Comprehensive Assessment of Summer Programs (CASP) Rubric. The CASP measures program quality and infrastructural indicators across nine domains, four of which measure quality on the site-level.

Trained observers in each community rate programs based on pre-defined benchmarks of quality and provided results to the Public Profit team.

Results across the three case study communities over time indicate that quality is improving. Between 2011 and 2012, scores increased or remained high and sustained across communities in 7 out of 9 domains.

The largest growth is within the Individualized quality domain, which assesses the degree to which programs address, “young people’s needs early in the program and develop individualized strategies for meeting program goals.”

Across the three communities, CASP observers note the use of “small student groupings for supporting learning experiences,” instruction that is “planned in advance,” and student ambassadors who “support…relationship building, mentoring and inclusion of youth voice.” These components of program design facilitate engagement of students with learning materials and staff.

Youth surveys echo these observational findings. Participants report positive experiences with peers (67%), engaging activities (68%) and caring adults (74%) in their summer program.

These program strengths illustrate that the intentional program design, staff engagement with students and curricula, and youth-centered program culture facilitate youth engagement with learning and help participants develop strong prosocial connections with staff and peers and improve academic motivation and confidence.

Quality Matters

Participants who had better experiences – as rated by their relationships with staff, peers, and program activities – rated their work habits, reading efficacy, and social competencies higher.

These findings show that youth who participate in high-quality programs are most likely to benefit, since youth who report better program quality report higher assets. Participants’ experiences with adult staff and peers are the strongest among the three factors: youth who report “excellent” experiences with staff and peers rate their work habits, reading efficacy and social competencies 30% higher than those who had a “low” or “fair” experience.

Kids see us as role models, especially when staff are diverse and their identities reflect the youth.

– -Summer Program Staff Member

Parents are satisfied with the quality of their children’s summer enrichment programs. For instance, nearly all (98%) parents across communities express satisfaction with the summer program and agree that their children enjoy attending.

In focus groups, parents report that programs facilitate positive social and emotional outcomes for their children by:

Keeping youth engaged with academic and enrichment activities;
Providing support to youth transitioning from elementary to middle, and middle to high school;
Supporting emotional maturation of youth;
Keeping youth out of trouble.

Parents and staff also emphasize the role programs play in providing youth with new experiences and new opportunities that they do not have during the school year, including field trips and community service projects.

In surveys, nearly all parents report that their children feel comfortable with summer program staff, and three-quarters agree that their children have “someone to talk to” in the program.

“My daughter learned humility and gained a sense of accomplishment. She felt thankful for what she had after visiting a homeless shelter; she even thanked and hugged her dad for being there for her. In addition to gaining perspective, she wants to keep helping the homeless and visited again to volunteer.”

-Summer Program Parent

When asked about alternatives to the program(s), parents report that their children would most likely spend the summer supervised at home (60%) or at another paid summer program (16%). Nine percent (9%) of parents report that they don’t know what their children would do and five percent (5%) report that their children would be unsupervised without their local summer learning program.

Considering future program attendance, 85% of parents in Fresno, 95% of parents in Sacramento, and 96% of parents in Los Angeles indicate that their children will attend their summer program next year.

Want to Learn More?

Download the full report to learn more about the programs discussed and see the data behind the assessments. The full report contains charts, tables and appendices to give you a fuller picture. You can also download a 1-page overview.

Summer Matters

Executive Summary

Improved Academic Efficacy and Sustained Academic Performance

Positive Relationships with Peers and Adults

Program Quality

Similar Resources

About the Summer Matters Campaign

Current Research

Theory of Action

Evaluation Methodology

Introduction to the Communities

Los Angeles

Fresno

Sacramento

Improved Academic Efficacy & Sustained Academic Performance

SAN DIEGO QUICK ASSESSMENT (SDQA)

District Benchmark Results

Positive Relationships with Peers and Adults

Program Quality

Quality Matters

Want to Learn More?

RELATED TAGS