Impacts of a Summer Learning Program: A Random Assignment Study of Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL).

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that low-income children's test scores drop significantly relative to their higher-income counterparts during the summer months. This study finds that a well-implemented summer learning program can improve reading test scores and increase the extent to which parents encourage their children to read during the subsequent school year. The findings provide some support for investments in out-of-school time programming for low-income children during the summer, such as those currently coming from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program and the Supplemental Services provisions of Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act.