DOE Report Praises Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program
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By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 2/23/2009 2:00:00 PM
Students attending schools that received grant money from the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (LSL) program perform higher on state reading tests than those in schools that didn’t participate in the program, says a recent report by the Department of Education.
The “Second Evaluation of the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program” says that the percentage of students during the 2005–06 academic year who met or exceeded state reading proficiency requirements increased by an extra 2.7 percentage points over nonparticipating schools.
At the same time, librarians who received these grants were more likely than non-grant recipients to establish or expand existing programs that involved collaboration, such as having library media staff assist teachers in designing, implementing, and evaluating research projects for students (42 percent vs. 24 percent), integrating educational technology into the curriculum for teachers and other staff (42 percent vs. 22 percent), and working with the principal or teachers on curriculum issues (40 percent vs. 23 percent), the report adds.
Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Washington office, hailed the report, saying, "The ALA is pleased to see these results, as they demonstrate the vital role school libraries serve in a student’s education. Literacy impacts every area of one’s education, and it is so important that more schools pursue ways to invest in their school libraries through opportunities such as the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program.”
Created under the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, the purpose of LSL is to improve student literacy skills and academic achievement by providing them with increased access to up-to-date school library materials, the latest technology, and certified media specialists.
And it appears to be working. Grant recipients roughly tripled the money they spent on books, subscriptions, and computer hardware, as well as purchased more up-to-date materials, compared to those who didn’t receive grants (92 percent vs. 72 percent), provided more time for planning with teachers (39 percent vs. 21 percent), increased professional development (68 percent vs. 41 percent.), and upped their library hours (62 percent vs. 24 percent), the report says.
The first LSL evaluation report in 2004 found that, overall, the grants seemed to compensate for the recipients’ disadvantages and brought them up to speed with those that didn’t participate in LSL, in terms of print, AV, and computer software materials.
The most recent report, however, found that the grants enabled recipients to surpass non-grant schools. In order to be considered for LSL, 20 percent or more of a school district must have students living below poverty level.
Overall, LSL grants have allowed schools to increase instruction on information skills, compared to those that didn’t receive grants (52 percent vs. 36 percent), work with classroom teachers on selecting reading or English resources (49 percent vs. 33 percent), hold family literacy nights (38 percent vs. 13 percent), and have after-school programs that offer an orientation to the library (34 percent vs. 8 percent), the report says. .
The report surveyed a sample of 400 school libraries served by the grant in 2005–2006 to a match comparison sample of 400 schools in districts that were eligible but did not receive grants.
The report does point out, however, that the increase may be associated with other school reform efforts that may have taken place alongside improvements made with the library grant money. Annual school-level test scores on students’ proficiency in reading/language arts were obtained from the National Longitudinal School-Level State Assessment Database (NLASSAD).
