12th September 2018 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Some private tutoring companies have been accused of preying on parents’ fears by claiming that up to 50% of a student’s learning can be lost over the long summer holiday period, and that two thirds of students fall behind. Reported on the Telegraph’s website, education experts say that there is a 20 year old study from the US which showed that students’ test scores decreased after a long period away from school, but this study has since been discredited. More recent scientific data show that the figure of 50% is an exaggeration.
Singled out for criticism was Explore Learning, who published adverts referencing the 50% learning loss, and Simply Learning Tuition included the claim on their website. Vicky Bingham, head teacher at South Hampstead High School, said the adverts were a classic advertising tactic; an attempt to cash in on a need which didn’t previously exist. She added that the adverts create a fear that parents are not doing enough, and that actually the best approach over the summer is to encourage children to read, something for which you don’t need a tutor.
If there was no option to hire a private tutor then every student would be in the same boat, so how can any of them fall behind? Unethical adverts by tutoring companies create the fear that a child will fall behind, and the result is that the parent does something about it. Many people in education believe that the long holiday away from structured education is beneficial for students, and it is best spent playing imaginatively and socialising with other children and adults; something which is more difficult in the classroom.
Since the public criticism of the adverts, Simply Learning Tuition has removed the statistic from their website, and Explore Learning has said that they have used other studies to support their claims, but it’s not clear which studies they are. It seems fairly obvious that students are less familiar with their work when they’ve had a 6 week break, we can all relate to that from experience, but we all also remember quickly getting back into the swing of things when school starts again in September.