School Libraries Make a Difference to Student Achievement
This page contains links to research reports and other documents that show that school libraries make a difference to student achievement; that school libraries have a positive impact on students and on learning. There are documents from a number of countries. There are also links to articles in professional journals and newspapers that are based on these documents. This page is intended to help school librarians to answer the question, "Do school libraries make a difference?".
http://www.iasl-online.org/advocacy/make-a-difference.html
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National Finding:
Student achievement increases when …There is adequate staffing, including at least one full-time certified library media specialist and full-time support person in the library media center. In Pennsylvania and Colorado, test scores increased as much as 15% in schools that had adequately staffed libraries. As library staff increases, there is more time spent on instructional activities
http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/NR/rdonlyres/EC67FB12-FE6B-464A-A2AD-D0C6307773E3/22725/National_Studies_Connect_School_Libraries__Student.pdf
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Library Media Programs and Student Achievement
Research has repeatedly shown that strong library media programs increase student achievement. In dozens of large-scale studies, involving over 8,700 schools and over 2.6 million students, research has consistently demonstrated that students score an average of 10-20% higher on reading and achievement tests when their school has a strong library media program. This effect holds, regardless of other school conditions such as student-teacher ratio, overall per-pupil spending, student demographics and community
socio-economic conditions. Furthermore, qualitative research shows that the relationship is causal: Effective library media programs directly contribute to higher student achievement.
http://www.cobbk12.org/librarymedia/proof/research.pdf
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The Texas Study, 2001:
- Smith, Ester. Texas School Libraries: Standards, Resources, Services, and Students’ Performance. Austin, TX: EGS Research & Consulting, 2001. Available at:http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/schlibsurvey/index.html
Download - Texas Presentation:http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/schoollibs/schlibsurvey/index.html
STANDARDS, RESOURCES, SERVICES, AND STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE TEXAS SCHOOL LIBRARIES:
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/schlibsurvey/index.html
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TEXAS SCHOOL LIBRARIES: STANDARDS, RESOURCES, SERVICES, AND STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE
http://www.davidvl.org/LanceStudies/TXStudy.pdf
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Presentation on "Texas School Libraries: Standards, Resources, Services, and Students' Performance" - Presented by Christine McNew
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/schoollibs/schlibsurvey/index.html
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Strong Libraries Improve Student Achievement
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How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards
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In 1993, the Colorado State Library published "The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic Achievement."http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED353989&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED353989
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The Importance of School Libraries
http://www.laurabushfoundation.org/Lance.pdf
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Discussion Paper: Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement
http://www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us/superintendent/Downloads/School%20Libraries.pdf
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The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic Achievement
This study provides evidence of the positive impact of library media centers (LMCs) on academic achievement in 221 Colorado public schools during the 1988-89 school year. The importance of the library media specialist's instructional role is also verified
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED353989&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED353989
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Haves, Halves, and Have-Nots: School Libraries and Student Achievement in California
The findings from this study confirm a host of prior research on the relationship between school libraries and student achievement ...**************************************************************
