Summer programs are often disconnected from the school year, focusing on closing gaps without aligning to fall classes. As a result, students’ academic needs go unrecognized. Traditional summer programs focus on remediation and enrichment over grade-level achievement and academics, lack dedicated learning curricula and standardized assessment tools, and have insufficient teacher onboarding and support.
Addressing these issues requires mindset shifts. Schools must move from seeing summer programs as remediating what students missed to giving them skills, confidence, and momentum. Teacher development needs to move from something outside of class to occurring during time with students, with high-quality support. Finally, summer instruction should be used to gather student data to inform fall decisions.
What Makes an Effective Summer Program?
The most effective summer programs run approximately five weeks, three hours a day, with daily opportunities for hands-on learning. They have curricula that connect teachers and students, provide opportunities for practiced professional development, and have clear instructional expectations.
Programs have pre- and post-program assessments with benchmarks throughout the summer, with teachers given professional development in scoring assessments. Data is immediately available for analysis and planning. Pre-program assessments let teachers know where students start and plan accordingly, while post-program assessments help measure progress and inform next steps.
Continue reading on pages 16-17 of the March 2026 issue of edWeb Voice.
