Students’ basic reading and math skills can decline significantly during the summer months. The findings in the literature have led to interest in summer programs designed to mitigate, or even reverse, the trend of summer learning loss. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of a novel summer program run by the State of New Mexico known as K-3 Plus. We seek to evaluate the extent to which participation in the K-3 Plus summer session reduces or even reverses the trend of summer learning loss. Using funding from a 2010 Investing in Innovation validation grant, we established the StartSmart K-3 Plus program, a program designed to mimic the standard state-funded K-3 Plus program except it is funded by our grant and requires randomization into intervention and control groups. The multi-site randomized controlled trial design allows us to rigorously evaluate the question of whether program participation improves academic achievement. Our preliminary results suggest that the K-3 Plus model is an effective way to improve student achievement in high-poverty schools by ameliorating summer learning loss.

About the StartSmart K-3 Plus program:

The New Mexico State Legislature originally created the K-3 Plus program as a pilot program. The StartSmart K-3 Plus program is implemented with high fidelity to the state-funded model, which requires 25 days of additional instruction each summer prior to grades K-3 (though participation is voluntary rather than compulsory) in smaller class sizes and includes instruction from certified teachers who have completed professional development, standard school meal service (breakfast and lunch), transportation, and a parent involvement component. Because the problem of summer learning loss is more pronounced among low-SES populations, state-funded K-3 Plus is provided in schools where 85% or more of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches (FRL) under federal standards. In the StartSmart K-3 Plus program, we extend the program to include schools with 70% more of their students qualifying under federal FRL standards. In contrast to many summer programs, the instruction is not focused strictly on remediation but instead begins the regular curriculum earlier.

The StartSmart K-3 Plus study is based in 7 districts around New Mexico, specifically Albuquerque Public Schools, Gallup-McKinley Public Schools, Santa Fe Public Schools, Roswell Independent School District, Hobbs Municipal Schools, Deming Public Schools, and Gadsden Independent School District. Within these districts, only schools that recruited sufficient numbers of student participants and met the necessary criteria (70% FRL or higher) participate in the program. Summer services are provided in these partnering districts.

Our project employs a multi-site randomized controlled trial design. Students were recruited and then randomly assigned to intervention or control within each school. About 55% of students were assigned to the intervention group, which receives summer services in addition to regular school year services, and about 45% of students were assigned to the control group, which receives regular school year services only.