Summer Reading Helps Literacy Skills, Stoughton Study Shows

STOUGHTON, MA — The results are in and it turns out that students who read during the summer are better readers at the start of school than those who don’t.

The results of the study from the Stoughton Public Schools and Scholastic Summer Reading Spotlight were revealed during a press conference this week at Dawe Elementary School. District K-5 Humanities Curriculum Supervisor Eileen Sprague said the study looked at summer reading and how reading during the break can help during the school year.

Of the five Stoughton elementary schools, three made up the designated summer reading schools while the other two were placed in the control group. The students at the summer reading schools got to pick 10 books to read over the summer and took part in literacy nights in June. The control group did the same in the fall.

The data, presented by Dr. Andrea A. Rizzo, director of research and validation for Scholastic Education, showed that students who read during the summer didn’t suffer from the so-called summer slide as much, where students’ reading abilities regress while out of school. About 34 percent of advanced reading students in the summer reading schools suffered reading lost compared to 43 percent in the control group. About 21 percent of striving readers from the summer schools suffered reading lost against 30 percent in the control group.

Third graders showed the most confidence in their reading ability and 87 percent of them said they were better readers because of summer reading. Parents agreed too, with 85 percent saying that the books contributed to their kids reading over the summer and 87 percent said their kids became better readers thanks to summer reading.

It was no surprise to Dawe Elementary School Principal, who said he sees students excited for reading every day.

“During indoor recess, outdoor recess, when I board the buses, kids have books out and they’re ready to read them. It is just a great community which holds literacy and reading in high regard,” he said.

“It was cool that you could get 10 free books. A lot of my books at home are from when I was younger, so they aren’t my grade level. The new books gave me something to read over the summer and it definitely helped me read more,” fourth grade student Victor Thomas said.

Below is the full press conference:

Image via Stoughton Public Schools