School is out, the mercury is climbing at a record pace, and young people across America are at risk of losing the reading and math skills they learned during the academic year.

In an average year, kids lose about 20% of their progress in reading and 27% in math during the summer, according to a 2020 study of outcomes from 2008 to 2016 in the American Educational Research Journal.

Students are susceptible to varying degrees of learning loss, especially if they don't attend summer school or do other education-related activities, according to the U,S. Department of Education.

What students do over the summer can affect how they perform on tests at the beginning of the next school year, said Andrew McEachin, an education researcher, formerly at NWEA.

The takeaway for family members and summer instructors, experts say, is they should think strategically if they want to help children hang onto what they've learned.

In interviews with USA TODAY, education experts and school leaders offered five key ways to avoid backsliding. They said adults should encourage kids to read books, use technology to stay fresh on math equations and take kids on field trips to local museums where they can apply their science and math skills and learn new ones.

Summer sucked the smarts from your kid?4 ways to avert brain drain before school starts

Visit libraries, pick up free books, join contests

Experts said continuing to read in the summer is essential to maintaining literacy skills, and it's key that grownups make reading fun. Families should take advantage of summer reading programs at public libraries. "Reading just four to six books over the summer" can stymie summer learning loss, officials at the Colorado Department of Education said.

Local libraries nationwide host a wide range of programs to promote literacy over the summer. The New York City Public Library offers early literacy storytimes, reading challenges and teen writing contests and invites local authors and illustrators to engage on-site with young people. The public libraries in San Jose, California are offering incentives for kids in July, encouraging them to read and earn prizes as part of a literacy arts fundraiser. In Iowa, the state library is encouraging students to participate in the national iREAD program, focused this year on protecting species from extinction, restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystems and protecting biological diversity.

National booksellers are also offering programming to combat the learning backslide. Barnes and Noble has free books on hand for kids who submit a journal entry about their favorite part of a book. Scholastic has a free, online summer reading "digital destination" program where young people can attend author events, interact with fictional characters and play book-based games from home.

Summer instructors are trying innovative ways to keep kids reading over the summer. At a literacy magnet in Chicago, school librarian Lies Garner created a summer book club for new and incoming students. Educators at another Chicago public school converted a classroom into a café-like environment with glass walls, bean bag chairs, chess boards and a record player for fourth- to sixth-grade students, said Evan Moore, spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools.

Moose math, old-fashioned worksheets

Since the COVID-19 school closures, schools are more adept at using opportunities for kids to solve math equations and apply arithmetic online.

The array of digital math programs used during the school year can be accessed online. Teachers across the country have also lined up their favorite online math learning tools through Edutopia: The greatest hits, which all include fees, include the math game-based application Moose Math, the subscription website Happy Numbers and the web-based math learning program Zearn. Scholastic recommends a few free options, including interactive math challenges from Khan Academy, and Parcc Games.

Video games that require math or science skills are also a way to get kids learning, wrote Richard Blankman in an article for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The popular math role-playing fantasy game Prodigy is one example.

There are also practical ways for families and caretakers to expose kids to new information during the summer, including introducing kids to budgeting and finance or tracking sports statistics while watching a favorite sport, Blankman wrote.

"Sports are full of math. For younger students, the activity can be as simple as adding up goals, identifying shapes, or discussing the difference between 2- and 3-point shots," he wrote.

If traditional worksheets work best for a child, families may print out math worksheets with equations for kids to complete.

Learn about astrophysics or hear from scientists at museums

Parents can take advantage of science or math museums to expose children to new ideas and give them chances to apply their school skills, Blankman wrote. Museums often offer summer learning programs and kid-focused exhibits.

Some communities offer discounted family rates for museums in the summer. The San Francisco Museums for All program grants local residents with CalFresh or Medi-Cal cards free or discounted tickets to participating museums, including the Walt Disney Family Museum and the Aquarium of the Bay.

The national Museums4All program also grants free or reduced admission to more than 1,300 museums throughout the U.S. for families who receive food assistance this summer. Military families can also get a discount on museums during the summer.

Some museums provide classes for kids to apply their math and science skills. New York teens can take free science classes in anthropology, astrophysics, conservation and evolutionary biology at the American Museum of National History. The museum also offers summer internships to older students and camp for younger kids.

Take music or career tech classes at summer school

There are also a broad range of summer programs for families interested in exposing children to music and STEM learning.

The Boys and Girls Club of America is running a summer learning loss prevention program called Summer Brain Gain, supported by Disney, to address the summer slide for students of all ages.

Some school districts are offering academic programs that are free for some families. The Philadelphia Public School District is hosting a summer camp for sixth- to eighth-grade students interested in exploring career and technical education options. The district is also offering an extended school year program for students who require special education support, said Monique Braxton, a spokesperson for the district.

Summer school can also be an opportunity for kids to try something new. The Los Angeles Unified School District's summer school features lessons on electives like music and fashion in addition to math and reading instruction, said Alberto Carvalho, superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Visit counselors and embrace summertime joy and play

District leaders and researchers say kids also need a break from learning during the summer. Parents should pay attention to how children are feeling and provide opportunities for social interactions when they need them, McEachin said.

"It's important that kids have the opportunity to just be kids over the summer, where they're both engaged and motivated in the learning, but also developing socially," he said.

Summer can be a hard time for some kids who rely on mental health counseling and support at school. Some summer camps are incorporating social and emotional well-being, and some schools are offering counseling services over the break.

Contact Kayla Jimenez at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.