THE IMPACT OF A SUMMER READING INTERVENTION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Abstract

With so many students attending summer programs, it is remarkable that there is little research available aiming to investigate achievement differences in participants versus non-participants. This study examined the place of a summer program within a school district budget and curriculum. The study was designed to better understand the achievement gains, or lack thereof, of students who were invited to a summer program in one Northeast school district. The research design attempted to provide a better understanding of how the summer program impacted reading achievement of students who attended the program. The study compared the reading achievement of students who attended the summer program to the reading achievement of students who were invited to the summer program, but did not attend. The results of the study revealed there was a statistical difference in the test scores of the students who attended the summer reading program compared to those that did not attend. That statistical difference showed that students who attended the program scored higher on the formative reading assessments than did students who did not attend the program during the October assessment. Also, it was discovered that students who attended the summer reading program maintained their difference in reading achievement level over the course of the school year, in between October and May. It was concluded that attending the summer reading program set forth a difference in reading achievement that was maintained throughout the school.