ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT GROWTH IN READING AND MATHEMATICS DURING THE SUMMER (ACHIEVEMENT)

This thesis is composed of a study which includes an examination of student achievement changes in mathematics and reading during the summer vacation from school, the types of activities students participate in during the summer, and the hypothesized relationships between summer activities, demographic factors and student achievement changes. Three of the hypotheses postulated no significant changes in reading and mathematics achievement test scores from spring to fall testing, and no significant difference between reading and mathematics test score changes from spring to fall. The relationships between socioeconomic status and family status and achievement were examined. The relationships between selected summer activities and achievement score changes were analyzed. The reading and mathematics sections of the SRA Achievement Series, forms D or E, were administered to the third and fourth grade students in four elementary schools in a mid-sized Midwestern school district in the spring and fall of 1983. A survey of summer activities was administered to the parents of the students in the fall of 1983. Spring and fall achievement test results and surveys were available for approximately 200 students. The data was analyzed using T-test and ANOVA statistical techniques, as appropriate. It was concluded that mathematics achievement scores declined significantly during the summer. Reading achievement scores showed a significant increase during the summer. A statistically significant difference existed between the direction of changes in mathematics scores and the direction of the changes in reading scores. Socioeconomic status and family factors were not significant factors. Few summer activities were found to be related to achievement changes during the summer. Playing school, one of the few activities in which children might practice mathematics skills during the summer was found to be significantly related to mathematics achievement. Time spent reading appeared to be related to reading achievement. Television viewing, although not statistically significant, seemed to have a trivial negative relationship with mathematics achievement, and a trivial positive relationship with reading achievement. The findings indicate the range of student achievement levels in reading and mathematics when school opens in the fall. The traditional fall review of mathematics skills appears to be supported, while a review of reading skills may not be warranted for the majority of students