Summer Reading and the Ethnic Achievement Gap

Abstract

This chapter explores the summer vacation improved fall reading proficiency, and whether access to books increased the volume of summer reading. Prior research, on the other hand, has relied on parental surveys of their children's summer experiences several months after the beginning of the school year, possibly undermining the reliability of measures of summer reading. A number of studies have shown that low-income and minority students undergo larger summer reading losses than their middle-class and White classmates, and that reading is the only activity that is consistently related to summer learning. Research on summer reading loss has prompted policymakers to adopt a number of strategies for encouraging children to read independently at home, and for increasing access to high-quality books. To make valid generalizations about achievement differences across ethnic groups, strategies must be in place to ensure that a sufficient number of minority and low-income students are sampled.