Students who attended Valley View School District's 2012 Summer Learning Experience showed more growth in math and reading this fall than those who did not participate.
Higher-performing students experienced more growth than students below the 50th percentile. Students who participated in the program longer (either the full eight weeks instead of four or the full-day program versus morning-only) saw the most benefits.
Overall, 90 percent of parents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with SLE; 66 percent said they believed their child benefitted academically and 78 percent believed their child benefitted socially.
District officials said the data and survey results were proof of success of the inaugural summer program, which they hope to expand for summer 2013.
Students participating
The Summer Learning Experience was held at four schools.
| SLE site | Total Enrollment |
| Beverly Skoff | 131 |
| Jamie McGee | 239 |
| Kenneth Hermansen | 92 |
| Pioneer Elementary School | 192 |
The program was offered to students in grades K-5, both in and out of the school district.
| Grade level | Valley View School District students | Out of District students |
| Kindergarten | 150 | 28 |
| 1st Grade | 117 | 13 |
| 2nd Grade | 99 | 23 |
| 3rd Grade | 98 | 13 |
| 4th Grade | 68 | 11 |
| 5th Grade | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 442 | 90 |
Test scores
District officials compared MAP, or compared measures of academic progress, scores in reading and math for students from last spring and this fall.
Students who enrolled in SLE saw little to no change on their math scores and a slight improvement in their reading scores. Students who were not enrolled saw a drop in math scores and no change in their reading scores.
| Summer Learning Experience | Average Score Change in Math | Average Score Change in Reading |
| Yes (430 students) | 0 | +.6 |
| No (5,460 students) | -.6 | 0 |
Those who were enrolled in the full eight-week summer program saw higher increase in math and reading scores than those enrolled in the four-week program.
| Summer Learning-Length of Program | Average Score Change in Math | Average Score Change in Reading |
| Eight Weeks | +.4 | +1 |
| Four Weeks | +.2 | +.6 |
Similarly, those enrolled in the all-day program, as opposed to just the morning, experience more growth in math.
| Summer Learning-Lenght of Day | Average Score Change in Math |
| AM | -.4 |
| AM and PM | +.1 |
Of the 442 students who participated in SLE, the highest-achieving students experienced the most growth, as compared with students who did not attend SLE. In the top tier, grades kindergarten, 1st and 4th saw the most growth.
| Reading Tier | SLE | Non-SLE | SLE Comparison |
| Tier 1 (50th percentile and above) | +.5 | -.5 | +1 |
| Tier 2 (25th to 49th percentile) | +.6 | +.2 | +.4 |
| Tier 3 (24th percentile and below) | +.9 | +.7 | +.2 |
In math, Tiers 2 and 3 had no change in test scores from those who did not attend SLE. Grades 1-3 in Tier 1 saw the mot benefit in math.
| Math tier | SLE | non-SLE | SLE comparison |
| Tier 1 (50th percentile and above) | -.7 | -1.5 | +.7 |
| Tier 2 (25th to 49th percentile) | -.1 | -.1 | 0 |
| Tier 3 (24th pecentile and below) | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0 |
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