Texas Summer Learning Study
The Texas Summer Learning Study is an independent study by AIR, in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency, and with support from The Wallace Foundation. This four-year implementation study will build from research on summer learning programs to understand the use of evidence-based design principles. What are evidence-based design principles? We use this term (and sometimes the acronym “EBDP”) to refer to the practices, strategies, policies, tools, and resources that prior research has shown may contribute to effective summer learning programs.
The study is designed to leverage multiple data sources and to elevate stakeholder voices while also minimizing the burden to study participants. At AIR, we are focused on building relationships through frequent and focused touch-points and data collection activities. We reflect robust equity throughout the study by focusing on the local context for summer programming; this includes understanding and measuring readiness, community-level variables, and the variation in use of supports and implementation.
Data Sources
The AIR team uses multiple data sources in the Texas Summer Learning Study, including those that Texas districts and campuses provide to the Texas Education Agency and those that the AIR team collects directly. This includes:
- Annual document review and attendance at learning community meetings to codify the implementation, adaptation, and design of EBDP in districts and campuses;
- Descriptive analysis of district and campus data to understand who is (and is not) being served, where, how, why, and under what conditions;
- Surveys of ADSY PEP cohort districts and on-site program leaders to understand their experiences and readiness for EBDP implementation in their summer programs;
- Observations in a sample of summer learning programs to understand overall quality of implementation and youth engagement;
- Interviews with ADSY PEP cohort districts and campus leads at the start of the school year and throughout the summer; and
- Interviews and surveys with state partners to learn more about the supports provided, ongoing planning, overall perceptions of implementation, strengths and areas of improvement, and lessons learned.
Goals
The Texas Summer Learning Study will result in actionable findings for the state and local education agencies across Texas by sharing data regularly and strategically in alignment with program planning and reporting timelines. In addition, it is our goal to share what we learn with the field to continue building the evidence-base for quality summer learning programs.
