Summer Slide

Research suggests that the majority of the achievement gap is attributable to “summer slide,” the accumulated lack of summer experiences that cause a child to lose academic ground. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the majority of students from underserved communities do not participate in enriching, constructive summertime activities, and too often return to school even further behind their more fortunate peers.

Summer learning loss is a primary cause of the persistent academic achievement gap. Without programs like Horizons, under-resourced students experience a substantial and cumulative erosion of reading and math skills that can ultimately leave them years behind their peers.