National Research
Boston is one of five cities participating in a national study on summer learning, commissioned through the Wallace Foundation and evaluated by the RAND Corporation. In addition to Boston, the following cities participated in the study: Dallas, TX; Duval County, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; and Rochester, NY. This longitudinal study featured a randomized controlled trial (RCT) – the gold standard in research – to track the effects of two consecutive years of summer learning participation on student academic and social-emotional outcomes. Additionally, the study is designed to assess program practices that lead to high quality summer learning programming. Results from this national study will be released in installments to inform the wider summer learning field.
Second Round Findings (Released September 2016)
Following up on the near-term findings from Winter 2014, this new report presents longitudinal data on most rigorous national study to date on summer learning. The findings show that students who attend voluntary 5-week, academically focused summer learning programs at high rates earned a clear advantage in math, reading, and social-emotional skills over their non-participating peers, and that these academic advantages persist over the school year.
Near-Term Findings (Released December 2014)
These findings depict the effects on student outcomes after one summer of participation in voluntary summer learning programs. This is the first phase of findings from the Wallace Foundation and RAND Corporation. Subsequent phases will detail research on the potential impact of summer learning on school-year outcomes, and the potential impact of two consecutive summers of summer learning.
