(NAPS)—Students don’t have to experience an academic slump during vacation if parents heed a few helpful tips.
The National Education Association (NEA) encourages parents and students to keep books on the menu so, when class is back in session, students continue to make progress instead of having to spend time reviewing last year’s lessons.
“Just because school is out doesn’t mean students should take a break from reading,” said Dennis Van Roekel, NEA presiden
t. “When students return to their classrooms in the fall, we want reading to top the list of what they did this summer.”
Fighting the reading loss—sometimes referred to as the “4th-grade reading slump” because of its crucial timing in a student’s academic career—proves to be a challenge for many students, especially for minority and low-income students.
Research shows that the reading achievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged students typically declines an average of three months between June and September, while that of the typical middle-class student improves or remains the same. As a result, students can lose critical ground that continues to widen their achievement gaps.
