Summer Learning Camp Enrollment, Attendance, and Achievement: Trends in Ten Tennessee Districts

About the Brief

In the summers of 2021 and 2022, all public school districts in Tennessee conducted summer learning camps (SLCs) for rising first through eighth graders, mandated by the 2021 Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act, to help address academic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These camps, primarily hosted in district schools and taught by district educators, were designed to support students’ academic recovery and were modeled after prior voluntary programs known to benefit young learners. The 2022 camps serve as a preview of outcomes and challenges leading to a mandatory attendance requirement for rising fourth graders scoring below a certain threshold on the state’s third-grade reading exam in summer 2023.

The Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) collaborated with ten districts to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the 2022 camps, providing each with tailored reports based on data from student enrollment, attendance, staff surveys, and benchmark assessments, including a combined achievement analysis from four districts with standardized pre- and post-test metrics.

Key Findings

1. Lower-performing students were more likely to enroll in summer learning camps.
2. Enrolled students attended an average of about two-thirds of days offered. Only 1 in 8 students attended 90% or more of days offered.
3. Summer learning staff report positive experiences for themselves and their students, especially in elementary grades.
4. Attendance in SLCs is associated with improved math performance in the fall, especially for elementary, non-White, and economically disadvantaged students.

Suggested Citation

Gutherie, J., Marks, D. (2023). Summer Learning Camp Enrollment, Attendance, and Achievement: Trends in Ten Tennessee Districts. Tennessee Education Research Alliance.