The Effect of Summer School on the Mathematics and Reading Achievement ofLow-Performing Second Grade Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in second grade math andreading performance between second grade students who participated in a remedialsummer school program during the summer following their first grade school year andstudents who qualified for, but did not participate in the program. The target populationfor this study was all academically low-performing elementary school students in DistrictX. The sample for this study consisted of 119 students.Analysis of the performance of students who participated in the summer schoolprogram compared to students who did not participate did not establish an overallstatistically significant change in student performance in math or reading. In addition,this study examined the differences in student performance of participants and nonparticipants when considering ELL status and free and reduced lunch status. Two-factorANOVAS analyzing the effect of ELL status and free or reduced lunch status on thedifference in math performance for students who did and did not participate in thesummer program were not statistically significant. However, when measuringdifferences in reading performance, 2tests of independence indicated that participants ofELL status who participated in the program were more likely to score on grade level orbelow grade level on the QRI than expected by chance. In addition, a statisticallysignificant number of students of free or reduced lunch status who did not participate inthe program performed above grade level on the QRI reading assessment than expectedby chance. Data analysis did indicate a statistically significant number of students whoparticipated in the program and were of free or reduced lunch status performed on gradelevel on the QRI compared to the number expected by chance. Nelson (2006) recommended summer school as an opportunity to support failingstudents. In addition, Donohue and Miller (2008) stated that access to summer learningexperiences have a direct correlation to the potential of a reduced achievement gap. Thecurrent study examined the effectiveness of a program designed to support academicallylow-achieving students. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of the currentprogram and to provide recommendations for action. The current summer programproved to be an effective tool to reduce summer learning loss for participants of ELLstatus and participants of free or reduced lunch status.