The Academic and Attitudinal Effects of a Math Summer Camp for Elementary Students

Abstract

Summer slide is described as the loss of educational achievement over the long summer break (Gray, 2017). Regardless of external factors (socioeconomic level, gender, etc.) it is more difficult to retain newly learned mathematics over breaks than reading overall (Cooper et al., 1996). Stacy, Cartwright, Arwood, Canfield, and Kloos (2017) used the term “math-practice gap” in order to describe the inability of students to use complicated math concepts during the summer months, contributes largely to the loss of knowledge over summer, when the students are not provided with the opportunity to practice and refine these skills.