Preparation for High School Chemistry: The Effects of a Summer School Course on Student Achievement

A summer course was developed with the goal of preparing girls to succeed in secondary school chemistry. Group work and mathematical, logical, and laboratory skills were stressed in the course, with minimal emphasis on memorization. Students who took the summer course ranked statistically higher during their first semester of high school chemistry than students who did not take the summer course. There was no statistical difference in the rankings between summer school students and non-summer school students during their second semester of chemistry. Implications of how to prepare students for both short-term and long-term success in chemistry are discussed.