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So What?
1) Researchers at Johns Hopkins University looked at a group of 665 Baltimore, Maryland students' reading test scores at the
beginning and end of each school year and followed them from 1st through 5th grade.

2) The difference between scores at the beginning and end of the school year were gains attributed to the school year. Likewise,
the difference between scores at the beginning and end of the summer (same as end of one school year and the beginning of
the next school year) were gains attributed to factors outside of school.

3) Learning was measured using the standardized
California Achievement Test -Reading Comprehension (CAT-V).

4) Socio-economic status (SES) was classified based on a composite of mother's and father's educational levels, mother's and
father's occupational status, and student's receipt of reduced-price school meals; an indicator of income level relative to family
size.

5) Note how each summer the high-SES students scores gain more than mid-SES or low-SES students.

6) Note how each school year outside of 3rd grade the high-SES students scores gained less than the mid- or low-SES students.

7) See this data
graphed as cumulative gains and losses through grades 1 through 5.

8) See also the
results for California Achievement Test -Math Concepts and Applications (CAT-M), where summer scores often
improve only slightly or decline.
Reading Learning Seasonality vs. Socio-Economic Status
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Supporting Evidence
w o r t h   a   t h o u s a n d   w o r d s
Reading Score Gains From Grades 1 to 5
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