Over 1,000 Italian students participating in the ‘Arcipelago Educativo’ summer initiative demonstrated measurable improvements in both mathematics and Italian, with particularly pronounced results among younger children (primary school) and those with special educational needs. Jointly promoted by Save The Children and Fondazione Agnelli across Ancona, Aprilia, Bari, Marghera, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rosarno, and Turin, the program combats learning loss through targeted interventions.
The landmark evaluation, published in the journal Educational Researcher under the title “Starting the School Year on the Right Foot: Effects of a Summer Learning Program Targeting Vulnerable Students in Italy” by Davide Azzolini, Martina Bazzoli, Sergiu Burlacu, and Enrico Rettore, constitutes Italy’s first scientific assessment of summer learning efficacy for primary and lower secondary students. Conducted by FBK-IRVAPP (Bruno Kessler Foundation’s Institute for Public Policy Evaluation), this research addresses a significant gap in Italy’s educational data compared to Anglo-Saxon and Northern European contexts.
The studied 2022 edition, implemented amid COVID-related school disruptions, provided 88 hours of group workshops designed to foster social skills and learning through peer education, cooperative learning, games, and outdoor activities—including two field trips. It also featured 12 hours of personalized tutoring in small groups for foundational skills reinforcement.
Post-summer assessments revealed participants systematically outperformed non-participating peers, showing 7% higher gains in Italian and 4% in mathematics. This disparity resulted from contrasting trends: non-participants experienced significant summer learning regression (especially in math), while program beneficiaries achieved learning progress during the break (notably in Italian).