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Do Public Library Summer Reading Programs Impact Student Achievement?. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services Open Advisory Committee Meeting Monday, January 26, 2009. Summer Library Reading Programs. Heyns (1978) landmark study. Foster reading enjoyment in children.
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Do Public Library Summer Reading Programs Impact Student Achievement? Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services Open Advisory Committee Meeting Monday, January 26, 2009
Summer Library Reading Programs • Heyns (1978) landmark study. • Foster reading enjoyment in children. • Prevent loss of reading skills over summer. • Cumulative gap in reading achievement between SES groups. • Third and fourth grade students most at risk. • What is the impact of summer library reading programs? • National Leadership Grant from IMLS funded 3 year study for evaluation.
Study Purpose • Do summer reading programs impact student achievement? • Is there a relationship between intensity of service and student achievement? • Focus on partnerships between public libraries and schools.
Evaluation Questions • Do students entering fourth grade who participate in the library summer reading clubs experience summer learning loss in reading achievement? • Do students entering fourth grade who participate in the library summer reading clubs have higher reading assessment scores in the fall, compared to classroom peers who do not participate? • Does the level of participation in summer reading programs predict higher levels of reading performance and motivation for students entering fourth grade?
Study Timeline • Phase I: Summer 2007 • –Instrument development • –Pilot study • Phase II: Summer 2008 • –Implementation of design • Phase III: Summer 2009 • –Data analysis and dissemination
Phase II: Application Process • Applications from partner libraries and elementary schools solicited Fall 2007 • Study website disseminated information • Applications submitted online • Deadline was extended to October 31, 2007 • 26 schools and 34 libraries applied • 18 complete paired applications received
Study Participant Selection Criteria • Entire school population had to have 50% or more students qualifying for free or reduced price meals • At least 85% of school population able to take SRI in English • Application did not measure quality • Minimum of 6 weeks of programming • Accepted 11 school/library pairs
Phase II: Summer 2008(11 sites, about 400 students) • Parental Consent • Spring 2008, pretest 3rd graders SRI • Students participate in summer library program • Student Summer Reading Program Log • Fall 2008, posttest same 4th graders SRI • Student Survey • Parent Survey • Teacher Survey • Library Staff Survey • Structured Library Staff Interview
Method • Participants • Students entering 4th grade • Library staff delivering the summer program • Parents, teachers, and school librarians (via surveys) • Settings • 11 geographical US sites • Title I schools and local library partners • Instruments and Materials • Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) (only available in English) • Surveys: Student, Parents, 4th Grade Teacher, School Librarian, Library Staff • Summer Library Reading Log • Structured Librarian Interview
Method (cont.) • Design • –Causal-Comparative • Analyses • –Descriptive Statistics • –Inferential Statistics • •Univariate • •Multivariate
Summer Library Reading Programs • Library summer reading programs theme-based. • Log presented challenges • Recommend e-logs and meetings with parents. • Felt it was too complex. • Majority of logs from a single pair. • Many librarians made school visits DRAFT
IMLS Study Tools, Final Sample Pool • 9 Schools and 9 Public Library Partners • 122 Student Surveys • 52 Parent Surveys • 9 Reading Logs • 5 School Librarian Surveys • (4 from final pool) • 7 Public Librarian Interviews • 7 Public Librarian Surveys DRAFT
Student Characteristics, N = 122(Free and Reduced Price Meals) DRAFT
Student Characteristics, N = 122(Individualized Education Plans) DRAFT
Student Characteristics, N = 122(Program Participation) DRAFT
Continue analyzing data Write reports Phase III: Winter 2008 through Summer 2009
Next Steps • Disseminate reports • Conferences • American Educational Research Association 2009 Annual Meeting (April) • National Center for Summer Learning 2009 Annual Conference (April) • American Library Association (July) • Submit finding to both research and practitioner journals, as appropriate
Carole Fiore Susanne Sparks Project Manager Research Specialist cfiore@dom.edu National Center for Summer Learning susanne@jhu.edu How to Contact Us