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PA School Library Impact Study on Student

AchievementPennsylvania School Librarians Association

Conference

May 3, 2013

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Presenters

Mary Kay Biagini Associate Professor & Director, School Library Certification Program, University of Pittsburghbiagini@pitt.edu

Debra KachelProject Manager, IMLS Grant

Mansfield University

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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

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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

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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).

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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?

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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

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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

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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.

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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.”

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Estimated Costs of Key School Library Components Needed for Student Achievement

Component Annual CostFull-time, certified librarian in every school

$125.1M (2010-11)$126.4M (2011-12)$128.9M (2012-13)

These figures represent about ½ of 1% of public school operating expenditures in 2010-11

Restoration of POWER Library databases

$1.772M (2005-06)$630K (2011-12)Difference in funding: $1.142M, which represents $0.65 per student in 2011-12

21st-century professional development for librarians

$533.5K (2011-12)2 days of librarian in-service per year

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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

© 2012 PA School Library Project | 12

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What’s being accomplished?

1. School Library Advisor position in Commonwealth Libraries was restored & 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

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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

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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

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Thank you for your support of

school libraries

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.