The Library Media Program and Student Achievement

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The Library Media Program and Student Achievement

• By
• Kim Grabowski
• Christina Petrus
• Diane Faiella

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The dollars you spend on the library media
program will result in real and measurable gains
in student test scores!
Members of the Board of Education Note
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The research is there
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Keith Curry Lance

• The Colorado Studies
• Lance saw a need for more information than the
  existing studies to prove what he suspected..
• That the library media Center can affect
  positively student achievement

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The First Study
Lance

• Looked at factors that were held in common by
  many schools
• Found data that already existed for schools
• Decided on over 200 school that had enough
  commonalities to study
• Looked at data already collected about the media
  centers, the schools, and the budgets

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Conclusions-First

• Students in schools with better funded LMCs do
  better on Standardized tests (IOWA basics)
• This is true for poor and rich communities and
  both educated and uneducated parents

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Conclusions-Second

• The specific factor that lead to the relationship
  between increased funding and increased scores
  are money spent on the staff and on the
  collection
• More staff, better staff, size and variety of
  collection

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Conclusions-Third

• School where LM Specialists played an
  instructional role showed better scores

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First Study Limitations

• Study was small in size, small sample in Colorado
  only
• Study was limited by data, could only use what
  was available and common to all schools from the
  Colorado Department of Education(such as IOWA
  basics)
• Not enough data about LMC variables, such as how
  skills are taught, scheduling, and technology

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So.
The Second Colorado Study
1999
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The Second Study-Focus

• Focused on 7th graders and tried to overcome some
  of the limitations of the first study

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The Second Study-Focus

• Looked at LMC variables
• Used a larger sample
• Used the new Colorado Student Assessment Profile,
  which was more indicative of the curriculum and
  standards
• Really, looked more at the LM Specialist than the
  center

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The Second Study-Conclusions
5 Indicators of Success
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The Library Media Program

• The higher the staff ratio per student, the more
  volumes and electronic resources per student, the
  more expenditures per student
• The higher the scores on standardized tests

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Technology

• The higher the number of networked compter to
  media center resources, the higher the number of
  electronic databases, the higher the number of
  computer on the Internet
• The more successful the student

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Collaboration

• The more time the LM Specialist spends working
  with teachers
• The more time the LM Specialist spends in
  instructing teachers in in-service programs
• The higher the level of achievement of students

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Flexible Schedule

• Those students who come to the media center as
  individuals looking for help score higher than
  those students who only attend the media center
  during a regularly scheduled class

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Leadership

• When the LM Specialist
• Meets with Principal regularly
• Participates in faculty and curriculum meetings
• Meets with other LM Specialist and professional
  organizations
• The students benefit
• This is very important administrative support is
  needed to accomplish all of the above!!!

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The Second Study-Conclusions

• Schools that had the highest levels of indicators
  just described had students with the highest
  levels of achievement

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Other studies
Higher Level Thinking is one key necessary for
increasing test scores
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(No Transcript)
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To increase higher level thinking a LMS must help
students not only locate information, but teach
them how to evaluate and use information
effectively in order for them to become
information literate.
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Skills on the CMT the LMS program can help
students improve

• Improve written, oral and listening skills
• Development of critical thinking skills
• Organizing and evaluating information

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Collaboration with teachers is necessary to make
meaningful experiences for the students
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Research
When students engage in research, they use
thinking skills at all levels of Blooms
taxonomy. When given a complex problem they
must deal with what they know and comprehend the
new information. They must go through all the
levels of thinking.
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Analytical approach - students spend more time

• Comparing and contrasting
• inferring
• determining cause and effect
• making judgements, forming their own opinions

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Alaska Study

• Elementary schools with well-developed library
  media programs showed improved test scores. 86
  of the students scored proficient or above on the
  state reading test, compared to 73 of the
  students in schools with less-developed
  libraries.

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Alaska Study

• Schools had a full time LMS
• Spent time teaching information literacy
• Collaborated with teacher
• Provided training to teachers
• Library media center had long hours
• LMC worked in relationship with Public Library
• LMC had Internet access
• LMC had a collection development policy

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Pennsylvania Study

• In schools with a full time LMS and aide, test
  scores were higher. Test scores in grades 5th,
  8th, and 11th increased by 4, 5, and 8,
  respectively.
• As library media staffing increased so did the
  amount of time librarians spent on instructional
  activities.

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Pennsylvania Study

• Library media specialists taught cooperatively
  with classroom teachers.
• They focused on teaching information literacy.
• They provided in-service training to teachers
• They served on curriculum and standards
  committees.
• They managed information technology.

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Library Media Specialists play animportant part
in helping students raise their test scores by
teaching them how to handle the information
explosion.
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Free Voluntary Reading

• A Powerful Tool
• for Literacy

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What is Free Voluntary Reading (FVR)?

• Reading because you WANT to
• Scheduled time for students to read whatever they
  want
• Important in determining vocabulary development,
  writing and spelling competence, and the ability
  to comprehend and utilize advanced grammatical
  structures
• Provides enjoyment and is an important source of
  knowledge
• --Krashen, 1993

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More reading is done where there is a school
library and a teacher-librarian. Children also
read more when they live close to a public
library.
--Krashen 1993
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The International Reading Association

• Literature should be the foundation of the
  language curriculumClassroom teachers should be
  presenting literature-based reading programs.

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According to a 1985 study, reading from books
occupies 1, or less, of childrens free time.
--Fielding et al cited in Olen and Machet 1997
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National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) Study

• Less than 5 of 17-year-olds were functioning at
  the highest of five possible levels of
  proficiency.

--Olen and Machet 1997
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How does theLibrary Media Program promote FVR
and createLifelong Readers?
Reading levels and readability formulas do not
create lifelong readers --Carter, Betty.
Formula for Failure. SLJ Online. 1 July 2000.
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Library Media Programs

• Encourage students to make own selection
• Create collections to complement the curriculum
• Are designed to promote lifelong learning and
  reading

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How?
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• Reading incentive
• programs
• Read-alouds
• -Series Stories
• Literature
• reactions and discussions
• Booktalks
• Matching readers with appropriate books based on
  their interests
• Attractive and Diverse collection that supports
  the curriculum and the students backgrounds

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Library Media Programs are Critical Enhancers
of Student Achievement for Todays Schools