Research Shows Time Away From the Books Over the Summer Sets Many Children Back Academically
Sal Khan, CEO, Khan Academy
(Mountain View, CA., Tuesday, August 15, 2017) – Today, Khan Academy announced the start of its free online learning challenge, LearnStorm, to help students address the effects of summer learning loss – or the ‘summer slide’ – and start the school year strong. The program is a free, six-week challenge that helps students build the academic skills and mindsets for a successful school year in new and, most importantly, fun ways.
Research shows time away from the books over the summer sets many children back academically:
- Students slip over the summer: Summer is great for recharging, fun and family time, but studies show the time away from the books sets many children back academically.
- The slippage is cumulative: Learning loss during summer months has a cumulative effect.
- The slippage plays out in lower test scores: Students score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer compared to the end of the school year
- Teachers spend nearly 22% of the new school year re-teaching previously-taught material.
LearnStorm gives students and teachers a fun way to start the school year strong:
- LearnStorm helps students build the academic skills and mindsets for a successful school year and is available to 3rd through 12th graders across the United States, thanks to support from AT&T
- LearnStorm is available across subjects including science, history, math, and grammar
- Students can unlock rewards by completing assignments, including a prize box for their classroom, a grand prize rally, and up to $5,000 of school supplies on DonorsChoose.org
- Registration opens August 15th and the challenge kicks off September 12th
In LearnStorm’s pilot period, 96% of students felt their learning confident increase using Khan Academy and 94% of teachers said they’d recommend the program to a colleague. Teachers can sign up now at www.learnstorm2017.org.
ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY
Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Today more than 55 million registered users access Khan Academy in dozens of languages from more than 190 countries. Khan Academy’s free online learning resources cover preschool through early college education, including K–12 math, grammar, biology, chemistry, physics, economics, finance, history, and SAT® prep. Khan Academy is the official practice partner for AP. Khan Academy gives teachers tools and data to help their students develop the skills, habits, and mindsets they need to succeed in school and beyond. And it’s all free, for everyone, forever.