Summer Fun...and Summer School?

As the school year winds to a close and kids face 2 ½ months of summer freedom ahead, many parents will be concerned about how the big summer break will affect their child's academic learning and, ultimately, test scores come September.
Experienced teachers complain that summer learning loss is a very real problem. Experts estimate that anywhere from one to 2 ½ months of the previous academic year's learning will be lost – and have to be regained – by the beginning of the next school year. Sally A., a Sylvan Learning Center representative who has also worked with children in the public school system, says, "It's like the whole month of September you're playing catch up, even into October. Some kids are fine, but then there's the other extreme."