There's a well-documented phenomenon in education research: learning loss accelerates in the final weeks of the school year before summer begins. Not because school gets worse - because students stop fully engaging. The year feels over. Tests are done. Summer is visible on the horizon.

The skills a student is actively using in late May are the skills they'll retain best over summer. The ones they've already mentally filed away are the first to fade.

For parents

This is not the time to ease up on daily practice. If anything, it's worth maintaining the habit specifically because school is winding down. The child who does 10 minutes of skill practice through the end of May starts summer with momentum instead of a slow drift toward forgetting.

For teachers

End-of-year assessments give you a clear picture of where each student stands - but that picture is most useful if acted on immediately, not filed away. Students who leave May with an identified gap in a foundational skill will return in September with that gap larger. Recommending summer practice is not about extra work - it's about not undoing the year's progress.