PA School Library Impact Study on Student Achievement Pennsylvania School Librarians Association

1. PA School Library Impact Study on Student Achievement Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Conference May 3, 2013

2. Presenters Mary Kay Biagini Associate Professor & Director, School Library Certification Program, University of Pittsburgh biagini@pitt.edu Debra Kachel Project Manager, IMLS Grant Mansfield University

3. PA School Library Project Overview • The Partners in the Project • Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA) • Education Law Center (ELC) • Health Sciences Library Consortium (HSLC) fiscal agent • The Purposes of the Project • Build awareness of the research about the effect of school libraries on student learning. • The Participants in the Project • Advisory Board • Professional Judgment Panel • Focus Groups • Survey Participants: Librarians, Teachers & Administrators

4. State of School Libraries in PA • PA State Board of Education, Pennsylvania School Library Study, 2011 (most comprehensive and robust study of school libraries in PA with 78% of 500 school districts representatives) • Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, Survey of the Status of School Librarians in PA Schools, 2011-2012, 2012-2013

5. Key Findings that Affect Students PA State Library Study More than half of the 1.8 million students (56%) in PA publicly-funded schools do not have access to a full-time librarian at their schools. PSLA Surveys In 2011-2012, 198 PA schools (7%) eliminated or severely curtailed library services to their students; in 2012-2013, an additional 117 librarian positions eliminated or severely curtailed (4.2% decrease from 2011-12) .

6. Questions Researched for the School Library Impact Study • Quantitative study: What components do 21st-century school library programs need to improve student learning and academic achievement? • Qualitative study: What are the perceptions of administrators, teachers and school librarians about the roles school library programs play in student learning in their schools? • Cost estimates: What would it cost to add key components of school library infrastructure to help students achieve in every school?

7. Critical Components in Student Achievement on PSSA Reading & Writing Tests To help students achieve academically, they need: • Full-time, certified librarian and support staff • Access to library beyond school day • Library resources in variety of physical formats (e.g., print, audio & video) • Up-to-date, Internet-accessible computers and access to digital resources (e.g., databases, eBooks) • Annual funding for library resources

8. Academic Standards Related to Library Practices/Activities & Librarian Roles AASL Standards for the 21st- Century Learner • Inquiry-Based Learning • Informed Decision-Making • Knowledge Sharing • Pursuing Personal Growth PA Common Core Standards • English Language Arts • Reading & Writing: • History/Social Studies • Science/Technical Subjects • College/Career Readiness

9. Educator Perceptions & Academic Standards Excellence in librarian’s teaching of Standards for the 21st-Century Learner is associated with: • Flexible scheduling & librarian-teacher instructional collaboration. • Librarians as in-service providers, school leaders & technology instructors (all 4 standards). • Librarians as co-teachers, reading motivators, teachers, instructional resources managers & instructional support (1+ standards). Educators’ assessments of the librarian’s teaching Standards for the 21st-Century Learner & PA Common Core Standards is highly correlated.

10. Educator Perceptions & PSSA Student Test Scores Student scores on the PSSA Reading & Writing Tests tend to be higher where: • Educators rank the librarian’s contributions to teaching Standards for the 21st- Century Learner as “excellent.”. • Librarians self-assess their contributions to teaching PA Common Core Standards as “excellent.”

11. Estimated Costs of Key School Library Components Needed for Student Achievement

12. An Acronym to Remember • Remember these FACTTS: • F = Annual funding for library resources • A = Access to library throughout and beyond school day • C = Collection: Current resources in variety of physical formats (e.g., print, digital, audio & video) • T = Technology: Internet-accessible computers and access to digital resources such as databases and eBooks • T = Teaching information literacy skills in collaboration with teachers using flexible scheduling • S = Full-time, certified librarian and support staff

13. What’s being accomplished? 1. School Library Advisor position in Commonwealth Libraries wasrestored & Sara Gerhart was hired and began work in April. 2. A statewide model information literacy curriculum that school librarians will be responsible for teaching and embedding in PA Common Core Standards curriculum has been written and mounted on PDE SAS Portal. http://www.pdesas.org/module/sas/curriculumframework/librarymodelcurriculum.aspx

14. What’s Being Accomplished 3. Status of PA school libraries and recommendations presented at hearing of Education Committee of PA House or Representatives in Harrisburg on 08/22/12. http://psla.org/index.php/news-a-blogs/116-house-hearing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7x-25NXdE

15. 4. Annual data about school library program staffing is being collected by PSLA http://www.psla.org/images/stories/news-images/Librarian_Survey_Results_2.pdf http://www.psla.org/index.php/news-a-blogs/120-staffing-survey http://www.psla.org/images/stories/news-images/Staffing_12_13/Staffing_Survey_11_28_Results_2012_2013.pdf

16. This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development, and research, IMLS helps communities and individuals thrive through broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning. Thank you for your support of school libraries