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The National Summer Learning Project (NSLP) examined the implementation and effectiveness of voluntary summer learning programs developed by five school districts--Boston, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; Duval County, Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Rochester, New York--and their local community partners. The study spanned three phases. The RAND research team (1) collected formative data for strengthening the five summer programs in 2011 and 2012; (2) examined student outcomes after one summer (2013) and after two summers of programming (2014 and 2015); and (3) examined student outcomes in spring 2017, at the end of three school years after the second summer of programming. This seventh report in a series summarizes the findings of this third phase in the context of earlier findings and offers implications for policy and practice. Overall long-term findings show that, by spring 2017, the academic benefits for high attenders decreased in magnitude and were not statistically significant--although when benchmarked against typical achievement gains at the same grade level, they remained large enough to be educationally meaningful.

This appendix augments a report that updates 2013 guidance to school district leaders and their partners across the country who are interested in launching summer learning programs or improving established ones. In that report, the authors present recommendations based on evaluations, conducted between 2011 and 2016, of summer programs in five urban school districts. The Wallace Foundation selected these districts--Boston; Dallas; Duval County, Florida; Pittsburgh; and Rochester, New York--for the National Summer Learning Project (NSLP), a multi-year assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary, district-led summer learning programs offered at no cost to low-income, urban, elementary students. The five districts are among the nation's most advanced in their experience with comprehensive, voluntary summer learning programs. This appendix presents: (1) Preface; (2) Tables; (3) Collection of Primary Data: (a) Summer Site Observations; and (b) Daily Site Climate Surveys; and (2) Documentation Used in Classroom Observations: (a) 2014 Classroom Observation Protocol; and (b) End-of-Day Site Survey. [For the full report "Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd Ed. RAND Summer Learning Series," see ED591732.]

The National Summer Learning Project, launched by the Wallace Foundation in 2011, includes an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary, district-led summer learning programs offered at no cost to low-income, urban elementary students. The study, conducted by RAND, uses a randomized controlled trial and other analytic methods to assess the effects of district-led programs on academic achievement, social-emotional competencies, and behavior over the near and long term. All students in the study were in the third grade as of spring 2013 and enrolled in a public school in one of five urban districts: Boston; Dallas; Duval County, Florida; Pittsburgh; or Rochester, New York. The study follows these students from third to seventh grade; this report describes outcomes through fifth grade. The primary focus is on academic outcomes but students' social-emotional outcomes are also examined, as well as behavior and attendance during the school year. Among the key findings are that students with high attendance in one summer benefited in mathematics and that these benefits persisted through the following spring; students with high attendance in the second summer benefited in mathematics and language arts and in terms of social-emotional outcomes; and that high levels of academic time on task led to benefits that persisted in both mathematics and language arts. This report contains the technical appendixes to the full report. These appendixes contain: (1) details of the randomization design (including treatment uptake, attrition, baseline equivalence of the treatment and control groups); (2) details of the data collection processes and protocols (including characteristics of the participating students, descriptions of outcome measures, and a description of the observation process and protocol); (3) a review of the extant literature on summer learning loss; (4) a description of the mediators and moderators included in analyses (including detailed information about how attendance and academic time on task were calculated); (5) analytic models used for estimating program effects; and (6) the complete results of all regression analyses. [For the full report "Learning from Summer: Effects of Voluntary Summer Learning Programs on Low-Income Urban Youth. RAND Summer Learning Series. Research Report. RR-1557-WF," see ED605457.]

Prior research has determined that low-income students lose more ground over the summer than their higher-income peers. Prior research has also shown that some summer learning programs can stem this loss, but we do not know whether large, district-run, voluntary programs can improve students' outcomes. To fill this gap, The Wallace Foundation launched the National Summer Learning Study in 2011. This five-year study offers the first-ever assessment of the effectiveness of large-scale, voluntary, district-run, summer learning programs serving low-income elementary students. The study, conducted by RAND, uses a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of district-run voluntary summer programs on student achievement and social and emotional skills over the short and long run. All students in the study were in the third grade as of spring 2013 and enrolled in a public school in one of five urban districts: Boston; Dallas; Duval County, Florida; Pittsburgh; or Rochester, New York. This report, the second of five that will result from the study, looks at how summer programs affected student performance on mathematics, reading, and social and emotional assessments in fall 2013. A bibliography is included. [For the brief of this report, "First Outcomes from the National Summer Learning Study. Research Brief," see ED561107. For the technical appendices, see ED561141.]

Many students lose knowledge and skills over the long summer break, and research suggests that low-income students fall further behind over the summer than their higher-income peers. Voluntary summer learning programs may provide an opportunity to stem summer learning loss and give struggling students additional learning opportunities. The Wallace Foundation is funding a five-year demonstration project in five urban school districts in Boston, Dallas, Duval County (Florida), Pittsburgh, and Rochester (New York). These districts have been pioneers in offering full-day voluntary programs for five to six weeks free of charge to large numbers of struggling elementary students, not just those facing grade retention. Over 5,000 third-grade students applied to participate in the district programs, and were randomly selected to participate in two summers of programming (summer 2013 and summer 2014). This study, commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, is the first randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of large-scale, district-run, voluntary summer learning programs. The overarching question addressed in this research is whether voluntary, district-run summer programs that include academic and enrichment activities improve low-income students' outcomes. [For the full report, "Ready for Fall? Near-Term Effects of Voluntary Summer Learning Programs on Low-Income Students' Learning Opportunities and Outcomes," see ED561140. For the report's technical appendices, see ED561141.]

Research shows low-income students suffer disproportionate learning loss over the summer and because those losses accumulate over time, they contribute substantially to the achievement gap between low- and higher-income children. The Wallace Foundation is funding a five-year demonstration project to examine whether summer learning programs can reduce summer learning loss and promote achievement gains. The full report, the first in a series, draws on emerging lessons from six school districts in the study -- Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County (Florida), Pittsburgh, and Rochester (New York) -- that offer full-day programs for five to six weeks free of charge to large numbers of elementary students. The report synthesizes the key lessons learned about how to establish and sustain effective programs. The recommendations from the full report are presented in this summary. [For the full report "Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 1st. Ed. RAND Summer Learning Series," see ED594503. For the appendix materials "Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 1st Ed. Appendix Materials. RAND Summer Learning Series," see ED594506.]

Despite recent progress in reading achievement among children in primary grades, many children are not moving beyond basic decoding skills to fluency and comprehension as they go on to higher grades. To address this problem, many policymakers suggest that reading coaches -- master teachers who offer ongoing on-site instructional support for teachers -- can improve teachers' practice and students' literacy skills. RAND researchers evaluated the middle school reading coach program in Florida to answer these questions: How is the program being implemented by the state, districts, schools, and individual coaches? What is the impact of coaching on teachers' practice and students' achievement in reading and mathematics? What features of reading coach models and practices are associated with better outcomes? This document provides a summary of that research report. [For full report, see ED502636.]

This research brief reports the results of a study examining the implementation and effectiveness of a middle school reading coach program in Florida. The study found that districts tended to establish similar policies and supports for coaches regarding hiring, compensation, evaluation, and training. School-based reading coaches in Florida divided their time among many activities and typically spent less than half their time in the classroom assisting individual teachers. Teachers and principals reported that coaches had a positive effect on instructional practice. However, evidence is mixed regarding the impact of coaches on student achievement. The greatest reported barrier to coaching was lack of time. [This research brief describes work documented in "Supporting Literacy Across the Sunshine State: A Study of Florida Middle School Reading Coaches," by Julie A. Marsh, Jennifer Sloan McCombs, J. R. Lockwood, Francisco Martorell, Daniel Gershwin, Scott Naftel, Vi-Nhuan Le, Molly Shea, Heather Barney, and Al Crego.]