Making the Grade With Information Literacy

In this evolving era of high-stakes testing, most parents and teachers are unaware of the relationship between strong information literacy curricula and increases in student achievement.

Information-literacy skills provide students with a powerful set of tools they can use to solve all types of problems. Standardized tests tend to rely on informational passages to evaluate students' abilities in reading comprehension; charts, graphs, and pictures to gauge graphic interpretation skills; and story problems or application problems to test their understanding of mathematical concepts. Each of these subjects require students to apply information literacy skills.

A curriculum that emphasizes information-literacy produces students with stronger academic skills, especially when aligned with well-written standards that are appropriately assessed. To effectively access, evaluate, and use information, students must have three basic problem-solving tools: they should be able to read and decode words, complete basic mathematical computations, and manipulate technology (such as search engines) to access information.

Teachers can embed these information-literacy skills throughout a curriculum in ways that promote variety, critical thinking, and cross-curricular connections. The nature of instruction changes when teachers and library media specialists collaborate to include information-literacy skills in lesson plans and activities.

The skills-oriented lessons can be replaced by more integrated and problem-based activities requiring students to draw from a variety of sources to complete tasks. Teachers can address several objectives or standards within one lesson, rather than focusing smaller lessons on individual objectives and standards. Students are more engaged when lessons offer varying subjects and levels of difficulty.

Curricula that encourage problem solving help students when unfamiliar situations arise. The increasing complexity of a modern world places an amazing burden on schools to educate children in basic skills as well as prepare them for an unknown future. Therefore, students must be flexible in their thinking and problem solving in order to manage unexpected situations that weren't covered in a particular curriculum. Information-literate students can apply information-gathering techniques to new situations. They are also able to evaluate the process they used and the product they create to determine whether the solution is adequate. They can alter strategies based on successes and failures during this process.

Finally, by embedding the curriculum with information-literacy skills, teachers increase serendipitous learning. Students will begin to have access to information from a variety of places. An integrated, information rich curriculum adds depth to the student's educational experience and highlights links between related content areas. It allows students to see the connection between basic skills and more complicated problem-solving situations. It builds bridges across disciplines, providing learning opportunities that they ordinarily would not have in an extremely compartmentalized environment. Information literate students are well-educated students.

And as Susan Sclafani, the counselor to Secretary of Education Rod Paige, puts it: "The complexity of the world in which… children are going to live requires that they be educated to high levels. We don't want to cut back on or eliminate subjects that will enable them to lead rich and satisfying lives.… Well-educated children pass tests."