FUN WAYS TO PREVENT THE SUMMER READING SLIDE IN DYSLEXIA

BY GEORGIE NORMAND, M.A.

Eight-year-old Alec was a very motivated student during his daily dyslexia intervention at school. He had been diagnosed with dyslexia six months earlier when still reading at kindergarten level. When he was told this was the source of his reading problem, he felt better. He now understood that he was as smart as his classmates and simply needed a specialized approach to reading instruction.

His twice weekly after-school tutoring sessions were also building his reading skills. He was looking forward to a time when he could pick up a book and read it fluently. As summer approached, Alec told his mother that he wanted to take the summer off from all lessons. She was justifiably concerned that some of his hard-earned gains would be lost over the summer break.

SUMMER LEARNING LOSS

Although the summer slide can impact all students, with or without dyslexia, there is no consensus about how much learning is lost. One recent study found that the average student lost 17-34% of the prior year's learning gains (reading, math, and other subjects) during the summer, and that those who lost ground in one summer are likely to lose ground in subsequent summers.

An earlier study found that achievement scores declined by one month's worth of school-year learning, with declines being greater for math than for reading. Another study suggested that the degree of loss depends on many factors, including household income. Some experts say that the summer slide issue is far from settled, but surveys do show that the average teacher finds it necessary to spend the first 3-6 weeks of school re-teaching content from the previous year.

For dyslexic students, when there is no summer intervention in place, the slide can be more dramatic and consequential. 

SUMMER SLUMP: Without ongoing cumulative review and lots of repetition with newly introduced reading skills, progress can stall or the student may regress.