Summer Learning Maintained With Reading, Math Challenges
More than 1 million students, parents and educators
in 20
states are collaborating in an effort to help children maintain their
math and
reading skills through the summer, according to the company providing
the
online platforms for the initiative.
The Council
of Chief State School Officers has partnered for
the last three years with MetaMetrics,
the company that developed the Lexile
Framework
for Reading and Quantile
Framework for Mathematics, measurement
devices intended to link assessment with instruction, to offer the "Chief's
Summer Learning Challenge."
For the past three years, MetaMetrics has offered the
online
"Find a Book" and "Summer
Math Challenge" tools to all state departments of
education, with 20 participating this year in the reading
program and 18 in the
math program.
"If we are going to seriously address the achievement
gap and
graduate all students, paying attention to summer is critical," said
MetaMetrics President and Co-Founder Malbert Smith.
With "Find a Book," students, teachers and parents
can build
custom reading lists based on the student's reading level and favorite
topics.
After identifying the right text, students can use the platform to check
on the
availability of books at the local library. The "Find a Book" program
has more
than 215,000 works of fiction and nonfiction that can be made available
to
students.
With the "Summer Math Challenge," parents who enroll
can
receive daily e-mails with activities targeted at their children's skill
levels
and links to free educational resources.
Both programs are primarily for children who have
completed
the second through sixth grades.
"The Chief's Summer Learning Challenge has been a
positive
experience for our state," said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry
Holliday. "With schools and public libraries working together to keep students'
skills
sharp over the summer months, our children are able to return to school
better
prepared to pick up learning where they left off."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.