Scholastic and SPS approached summer reading loss and related research in five elementary schools by:
• p roviding 10 free, self-selected books per student to more than 1,700 students in grades 1–6 4 o 1,000 students in the treatment schools for the summer o 709 students in the control schools for the winter 5 ;
• hosting Family Literacy Nights to support family engagement o
three treatment schools held Family Literacy Nights in June 2017 o two control schools held Family Literacy Nights in October 2017;
• distributing nearly 1,100 surveys to students in grades 3–6 in the treatment and control schools at the end of the school year in the spring, and at back-to-school time in the fall; and
• distributing over 1,600 digital book log accounts to track summer reading in the treatment and control schools.
This Executive Summary contains findings based on responses from 575 students 6 and nearly 80 family members.
Findings should be interpreted with the knowledge that treatment and control students’ reading scores were equally distributed from well below average to well above average reading tiers, 7 so changes over the summer may be attributed to effects of the SRS program. Additionally, no differences were found when we explored the added impact of other summer learning or enrichment opportunities that students and families may have sought and participated in during the summer. 8
4 Throughout this research, grade refers to the grade students were in when they returned to school in the fall of 2017. 5 To encourage reading schoolwide, Kindergarten students and 6 th grade students were also provided books in the control schools.
6 These findings comprise responses gathered from students in grades 3–6, but excluding those 6 th -graders who did not respond to the survey in the fall. 7 AimsWebPlus Tiers are defined based on national norm percentile scores for each individual measure, grade and test period (Fall, Winter, and Spring). For exam- ple, Well Above Average represents the 90th-99th percentile, and Well Below Average represents the 1st-10th percentile. 8 No difference in findings were observed for students indicating they participated in additional summer learning opportunities; however, sample sizes were small and impacts may exist, but we were unable to detect them.
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