1. Help Your Child Make up for COVID Learning Loss.
In a normal school year, most kids can lose about 2+ months of learning over the summer. But this year, the COVID slide AND summer learning loss combined will make back-to-school time really difficult this fall.
(And you know what that sounds like at home: More stress. More arguments. More unnecessary struggle.)
The “COVID slide” is the much-written-about phenomenon that sees children making slow or no progress in their education while school buildings remain closed. For many students, school closures, hybrid learning and online learning has led to an increase in skill gaps and stalled development.
Research shows children are now three months behind schedule in school. While that may not seem like much given the long-term disruption COVID has brought, at the pace of regular schooling, it would take 2-3 years to make up that time. The longer this backwards slide remains unaddressed, the longer it will take students to catch up.
“We’re asking a lot of teachers—they are human, and it's hard. It’s been a tough year for everyone, but we’re getting better about it," Sylvan’s VP of Education Emily Levitt said. "The more support services teachers have alongside them, the better.”
What does that mean for you?
If your child was struggling with school before COVID, then odds are they will have fared worse than the average student during COVID. And that means the gaps in their education have only grown, especially if your child was learning English or has special learning needs.*
If your child was doing well before COVID but struggled to keep up with distance learning, there will likely be extra catch up time needed in the fall when school reopens.
When you team up with Sylvan this summer, your child will keep up learning habits AND strengthen skills and confidence. It will be a MUCH smoother transition back into (hopefully) a more normal school year.
2. Fill In Skill Gaps While Moving at Your Child’s Pace.
During the school year, teachers need to move quickly, whether your child fully understands a topic or not. Your child is constantly chasing a moving target.
Over the summer, though, your child can move at his or her own pace. There’s no chasing other students. You don’t have to worry about the class getting way ahead.
This summer your child can spend the time needed to fill in gaps in learning from the school year and build a strong foundation for the next grade level—or better yet, get ahead!
3. Head into Big Transition Years With Confidence.
Throughout your child’s academic journey, there are certain grade transitions that represent BIG jumps in responsibility and independence.
These big transitions include going from:
-2nd grade into 3rd grade
-Elementary to middle school
-Middle school to high school
-High school to college/university
Why 2nd to 3rd grade, you wonder? Third grade is the year that the training wheels come off. Your child will go from learning to read, to starting to read to learn. If your child isn’t ready for that transition, he or she will have trouble making that jump with the rest of the class.
We’ve seen that virtual or hybrid school hit young students the hardest, so getting your kindergartner, 1st or 2nd grader ready for the new challenges and harder concepts will be critical.
For older kids, the transition to high school and college/university academics can be a shock, particularly the rigors of advanced-level reading and writing assignments.
With a tutor, your son or daughter will be well prepared and eliminate the risk of stumbling.
4. Raise SAT® or ACT® Scores With Summer Help
Yes, we are still encouraging students to take the SAT or ACT, and summer is the most popular time to get a tutor for SAT or ACT preparation!
While many schools are at least temporarily test optional, it’s important to note that test optional does not mean test blind.
Test optional means students can decide if they want to send SAT/ACT scores or not, while test blind means the school won’t consider the tests at all.
Most test-optional schools will utilize the scores in their decision-making process if they are sent, or they’ll provide an alternative option if a student is not sending scores. It’s important to have a clear understanding of what the alternative is before deciding whether to include test scores. If your teen’s score can help set him or her apart—send it!
There are good reasons to prep for the test this summer!
- Over the summer, your teen can focus on test-taking strategies and fine-tuning skills without all the stresses and distractions of school.
- If you have a soon-to-be senior, your teen has likely taken the exam already. Your tutor will be able to look at the results and know exactly where focus to help your teen improve results on the next exam.
- One of the subjects that we see teens struggle with on the ACT and SAT is algebra. Why? Their skills get rusty. (Use it or lose it, right?) Your tutor can make sure your teen gets an awesome refresher before the big test in the late summer or early fall.