Capitalizing on Teaching to the Test

The lives of students and everyone involved in their education are increasingly revolving around tests. Teachers are narrowing their curriculum to teach to the test. School administrators are becoming score obsessed.

Testing is here to stay. So library media specialists must find positive, progressive ways to respond to what we know is an expectation in our schools—and a natural part of instruction and accountability.

This situation is an opportunity for library media specialists to capitalize on the reality of high-stakes testing. Although the link between standards and content learning is the focus of the current testing movement, little attention is paid to essential information literacy skills. Library media specialists can make convincing arguments that although high-stakes tests measure both content and process, information literacy skills are the set of skills necessary for test success and for lifelong learning.

School library media specialists can impact students beyond the test. We can refocus the short-term goal of raising test scores. Teaching for success on a test is not the ultimate goal, but a by-product as students gain skills necessary for lifetime success. We can help teachers move from "coverage of content and correct answers" to providing life skills through the collaborative teaching of information literacy.

We can change schools. Maybe not with grand, sweeping gestures; however, with focused energy and efforts, we can promote alternatives. We can provide insight, ownership, and commitment to the certainty that library media specialists have identified a set of skills—information literacy abilities—that can positively impact students. We can emphasize the lasting influence of these abilities, essential for students to succeed in college, the workplace, and in daily life.

Encouraging teachers and administrators to "invest" in school library media programs and take advantage of the expertise of school library media specialists are key. To move forward, we should ask some important questions: Are school library media specialists educational leaders? Do school library media programs unite the content areas and promote integration of content and process skills? Do library media programs respond to the needs of each student? Do library media programs impact student performance? The articles in this issue address these questions and more.