This Executive Summary contains exploratory findings concerning the effectiveness of the MSC program as well as descriptive information about the students and families who participated. The findings should be contextualized in the sense that there was not a comparison group of students; rather this is an analysis of the unique results of all students participating in MSC. Additionally, this research does not account for additional summer learning/enrichment opportunities that may have been sought out and participated in by some of these students and families. Key Findings Our preliminary work examined how summer reading activities might contribute to reducing or stemming typical summer reading loss, as well as the role of students’ attitudes and beliefs about reading and their actual summer reading habits. Key findings from this work include: • MSC students read more books over the summer than the national average. • MSC students read an average of 14.7 books, compared to the national average of 12 books. 3 • The majority of students participating in MSC did not experience the summer reading loss that is typically associated with students in higher-needs schools. • More specifically, 78% of 3rd–5th grade students maintained or increased their reading level from spring to fall 2016. 4 • Students who read more books over the summer were less likely to experience summer reading loss. • Students who read 11 or more books were less likely to experience summer reading loss as defined by moving to a lower MAP performance tier at the end of the summer. • There was a substantial increase in reading stamina, or the time spent reading without taking a break, from spring to fall 2016. • The percent of students who read for one hour or more without stopping increased from 13% to 26%. • Students reported increased confidence in reading after participating in the MSC program. • 82% agreed that they were better readers after the summer.
3 National average based on Scholastic’s nationally representative Kids & Family Reading Report™ with kids aged 6-11. 4 Reading levels as measured by overall MAP RIT performance tiers created for this study’s analyses
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