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Abstract

Summer learning loss has been widely studied in K-12 schooling, where the literature finds a range of results. This study provides the first evidence of summer learning loss in higher education. We analyze college students taking sequential courses with some students beginning the sequence in the fall semester and others in the spring. Those beginning in the fall experience a shorter break between the courses. We test whether the length of that gap explains the students’ performance in the subsequent course. Initial results suggest that a longer gap is associated with lower grades. However, including student fixed effects eliminates the observed knowledge decay with a few exceptions: knowledge decay remains for students in language courses, for students with below-median SAT Math scores, and for students with majors outside STEM fields.

5. Conclusion

Debate continues on the implications of school scheduling and its impact on student learning and learning loss, specifically over summer breaks. This paper provides the first evidence on learning loss in higher education. Students enroll in a variety of course sequences in college. Using administrative data from Clemson University, we focus on course sequences taken two semesters in a row, either 15 Adding a variable for the number of credits the student has completed successfully does not significantly change the regression results. fall–spring or spring–fall. Sequences taken fall–spring offer a shorter gap between courses than do courses taken spring–fall. In specifications controlling for time-invariant student characteristics, we appear to find evidence of a summer learning loss, also known as knowledge decay, at the college level. Because students who take multiple sequenced courses with different break lengths between them, we can include student fixed effects. The estimate of knowledge decay is sensitive to the inclusion of these student-level fixed effects. We find that, on average, grades are no different for sequences taken fall–spring instead of spring– fall. In addition to providing new evidence on knowledge decay in higher education, we confirm the importance of controlling for student fixed effects shown by McMullen and Rouse (2012) in elementary and middle school. Even with a wide set of controls, traits associated with longer delays may also be associated with lower grades.