Start Spreading the News
New studies tie higher reading scores to good school libraries
Renee Olson, Editor-in-Chief -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2000
Indulge me in a fantasy. Believe for a moment that I'm nine and I live in a huge house with a manicured lawn and a pool. My mother has a Ph.D. and my father spends most of his time on a yacht. My school, well, it has more money than some small principalities. And the school library is awesome. There are tons of books and magazines and the Internet. I spend a lot of time there, sprawled out in a cushy chair. I do pretty well in school, too. I read above my grade level.
Now imagine that my school slashes its library budget. Could this threaten my reading scores? The answer is yes.
Three new studies, all offspring of the well-known 1993 Colorado study, prove there's a strong correlation between well-developed library media programs and significantly higher scores on state reading tests in Colorado, Alaska, and Pennsylvania (for details, read "Dick and Jane Go to the Head of the Class,").
The studies are the result of nimble number-crunching by Keith Curry Lance and a team of researchers at the Library Research Service at Colorado's State Library--Eugene Hainer, Christine Hamilton-Pennell, and Marcia J. Rodney. They took the components of a library media program--from the educational background of the library media specialist to collection spending--and analyzed them with other factors, such as school funding levels and socioeconomic conditions, in more than 800 schools.
Let's return to my life as a well-to-do fourth grader. If my school wanted to lower my reading test scores, the studies show that it could do any of several things. It could shave away the time my librarian spent collaborating with teachers. It could cut support staff, whose presence allows my librarian to do professional work. It could starve the collection and technology budget. Or it could just sack the librarian.
Conversely, the research clearly outlines a way to create an environment that produces better reading scores. If I were a fourth grader in a lower-income district, my school could help boost my scores simply by improving its library media program. Hiring a certified librarian is essential. "In all three states what worked was a certified library media specialist, however the state in question defined 'certified,'" says Marcia J. Rodney, a member of the research team. Even teachers with some library training failed to have an impact on scores, she adds.
The findings confirm what we know from experience: good school libraries cannot be shoved to the back burner; they are not a discretionary part of education, a frill, a relic from days gone by. This information is vitally important to every student, every teacher, and every administrator faced with the public's unrelenting cry for better reading scores. It emphatically points out to educators what is needed to enrich the intellect and imagination of our students: retire the dusty books and dead equipment and train staff to update collections and collaborate with teachers--or, hire librarians if none exist.
Still, the studies also showed that school libraries aren't a panacea for all social ills. For Alaskan elementary school students, the impact of poverty, Alaska Native status, and the limited educational background of adults in the community had a greater impact on scores than did library media programs.
The challenge now is straightforward, but requires effort. We--and that includes our professional associations--must broadcast the studies' findings to everyone who has decision-making or lobbying power--principals, superintendents, school board members, the greater library community, the local media. Show them the link between the studies' findings, your district's reading scores, and statistics from your own library. For inspiration, read about what Jim Hundemer did to increase funding in Houston in "Texas Turnaround,". SLJ, for its part, will get the word out to national news and education media.
The demand for improved reading scores has not diminished in the least. At the same time, a healthy economy still cranks out governmental budget surpluses. Use Lance's data to pry open those wallets. It's time to win something back for your students.
Renée Olson
Editor-in-Chief
rolson@slj.cahners.com
