Book excerpt: This book brings together up-to-date, research-based evidence concerning summer learning and provides descriptions and analyses of a range of summer school programs. The chapters present theory and data that explain both the phenomenon of summer learning loss and the potential for effective summer programs to mitigate loss and increase student achievement. Summer Learning: Research, Policies, and Programs: *presents evidence describing variations in summer learning loss and how these learning differences affect equality of educational opportunity and outcomes in the United States; *discusses the development, characteristics, and effects of the most recent wave of summer programs which are designed to play key roles in the recent standards movement and related efforts to end social promotion; *examines the impact of three of the most widespread, replicable summer school programs serving students across the United States; and *considers the characteristics and effects of alternative programs and practices that are designed to combat the problem of summer learning loss head on. Intended for education researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and graduate students, this volume is particularly relevant to those interested in social stratification, equity-minded policies, implications of the current standards movement and high stakes testing, and the development of programs and practices for improving education.