NPR (7/8, Seidel) reports in its “Ed” blog that “we have no idea” whether summer school programs for students are effective. One expert interviewed pointed out that there’s never been a push to collect data on the effectiveness of summer school because so little attention gets paid to it. Some summer school programs are for students who failed remedial work to bring them up to grade level, while other students attend summer school to make up for credits lost due to absences during the school year. These students attend with the goal of remaining on grade level with their peers. Efforts in the Los Angeles Unified School District and at schools in Illinois have kept students on track during the summer months and helped prevent the summer slide in progress.