The cure for the summer reading slump: An increased investment in libraries

Sent to the Tri-City Herald, (Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash.)

The decline in reading achievement over the summer ("Mid-Columbia schools try to beat student forgetfulness," Aug. 28) is actually an argument for increased funding for public libraries.

Some of the research reports on the summer slump, including Barbara Heyns' original study of summer learning published in 1975, strongly suggest that reading scores go down during the summer because low-income children have less access to public libraries and other sources of books and don't do as much pleasure reading.

The implication: More funding for public libraries in low-income areas, and a more cautious approach to increasing time dedicated to traditional instruction. Too much traditional instruction could limit time for wide, self-selected voluntary reading, the single most important factor in improving reading achievement.

Stephen Krashen

Sources:

Heyns, Barbara. 1975. Summer Learning and the Effect of School. New York: Academic Press.

Kim, Jimmy. 2003. “Summer reading and the ethnic achievement gap,” Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk 9, no. 2:169-188.

Original article: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/08/28/1618503/mid-columbia-schools-try-to-beat.html