TEACHER VOICE: Preparing kids for high school math isn’t enough — they need to hang on to their new skills until fall

The Hechinger Report published a Teacher Voice opinion piece by eighth-grade math teacher Josh Gresham, “Preparing kids for high school math isn’t enough — they need to hang on to their new skills until fall", as part of their special reports on High School Reform, which discusses the positive outcomes of a summer math pilot at Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy, a member of the Zeroing in on Math initiative. From the article:

For an eighth-grade math teacher like me, the arrival of spring means I’ve almost finished teaching the concepts my students need to succeed in high school.

It also means it’s time to gear up for the next challenge: helping students to retain their math knowledge over the summer.

Research shows that students across all socioeconomic backgrounds experience nearly three months of learning loss in math over the summer.

Summer learning loss is not just about students losing content knowledge. As the teacher for the next school year, the level of loss determines how much review time needs to be built into the schedule.

Time spent on review is valuable, but ultimately takes focus away from grade-level content, which can hinder students’ chances of growth over the year.

Read the full article here and learn more about Zeroing in on Math here.