Catching students up who have fallen behind academically is a key challenge for educators, and can be difficult to do in a cost-effective manner. This field experiment examines the causal effect of a program designed to provide struggling sixth and seventh graders with math instruction delivered in small groups of roughly ten students by select teachers over weeklong vacation breaks. The program was implemented in a set of low-performing Massachusetts middle schools undergoing turnaround reforms. Attendance at these “Vacation Academies” increased the probability that students scored proficient or higher on Common Core–aligned math exams by 10 percentage points and reduced students’ exposure to exclusionary discipline by decreasing out-of-school suspensions post-Academy. I find suggestive evidence of positive spillover effects on English Language Arts achievement and end-of-course grades in math and reading. Participants assigned to a single primary teacher for the entire week saw larger reductions in out-of-school suspensions than did students who rotated through teachers specializing in particular lessons. However, teacher specialization was associated with greater test score gains, suggesting a trade-off in outcomes depending on program design. Overall, the program's low cost and lack of a highly competitive teacher selection process make it a scalable approach to individualizing instruction.

中文翻译：

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充分利用学校假期：小组数学教学的现场实验

吸引那些在学术上落后的学生是教育工作者面临的主要挑战，而且很难以经济有效的方式做到。这项野外实验检验了一项计划的因果作用，该计划旨在为艰难的六年级和七年级学生提供为期一周的假期，由精选的老师在大约10名学生的小组中提供数学指导。该计划是在马萨诸塞州一系列表现不佳的中学中进行的。参加这些“假期学院”可以使学生在“通用核心”数学考试中达到熟练或更高分数的概率提高10个百分点，并通过减少学院后的校外停学时间来减少学生对排他学科的接触。我发现对英语语言成绩和数学和阅读课程结业成绩有积极溢出效应的暗示性证据。整周分配给一位小学老师的参与者所看到的校外停学次数减少得比那些轮流学习特定课程的老师的学生减少得更多。但是，教师专业化与更高的考试成绩相关联，这表明在权衡结果时要取决于课程设计。总体而言，该计划的低成本和缺乏极具竞争力的教师选择过程使其成为一种可扩展的个性化教学方法。整周分配给一位小学老师的参与者所看到的校外停学次数减少得比那些轮流学习特定课程的老师的学生减少得更多。但是，教师专业化与更高的考试成绩相关联，这表明在权衡结果时要取决于课程设计。总体而言，该计划的低成本和缺乏极具竞争力的教师选择过程使其成为一种可扩展的个性化教学方法。整周分配给一位小学老师的参与者所看到的校外停学次数减少得比那些轮流学习特定课程的老师的学生减少得更多。但是，教师专业化与更高的考试成绩相关联，这表明在权衡结果时要取决于课程设计。总体而言，该计划的低成本和缺乏极具竞争力的教师选择过程使其成为一种可扩展的个性化教学方法。