Karen Gavigan IFLA School Library Standing Committee Meeting Zagreb, Croatia April, 2016

 Since 2000, 30 state level impact studies  Half by Keith Curry Lance & RSL Research Group (AL, CO(4), IA, ID, IL, IN, MI, NM, OR, PA(2), & SC)  Half by others (CA, DE, FL, MA, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, TX, WI, & ON)

South Carolina did not have enough empirical data to support school libraries and school librarians Keith Curry Lance’s previous studies are recognized internationally 14 studies conducted in 19 states and Canada Disturbing trends in SC schools greatly influenced the SCASL Board’s decision Library staffing Library budgets Stakeholders’ perceptions

SCASL commissioned Keith Curry Lance and the RSL Research Group to conduct a study on the impact of school libraries and librarians in South Carolina Board contracted for RSL Associates to conduct a two-phase study

Standard-level test results on Reading ◦ Literary text ◦ Informational text ◦ Research Standard-level test results on Writing ◦ Content ◦ Organization Phase I  Palmetto Assessment of State Standards PASS results (elementary & middle)  High School Assessment Program HSAP results (high)—no standards detail

Completed in August, 2014 Compared PASS/HSAP scores to data from 2013 Annual SC School Library Surveys 787 usable responses from the SC School Library Surveys

Numbers of librarians and library assistants Library expenditures, total and per student Hours per week librarians spend collaborating Circulation of library materials Collection size Computer access Group visits to libraries per week

When school libraries were staffed with at least one full-time school librarian, and at least one part-time assistant, students were more likely to: ◦ Show strengths on PASS writing standards ◦ Achieve Exemplary ELA results

 Data from 2013 SC School Library Survey: ◦ Median total for school library expenditures was $7,500 ◦ Per-student basis, school library spending was $13.33  For all students, higher total library spending was associated with: ◦ More students showing strengths on the PASS Writing standards ◦ More students having exemplary results on PASS English Language Arts (ELA) standards

 Data from 2013 SC School Library Survey: ◦ Librarians report spending about 20 hours per week on these kinds of teaching activities ◦ Students achieving at Exemplary level overall were more likely to be at schools where librarians spent 25 or more hours per week on teaching activities ◦ Students achieving in the bottom 25 percent of overall PASS scores were more likely to be at schools where librarians spent less than 10 hours per week on such activities

◦ When librarians spent more time teaching:  All students  Students of both genders  Black students were more likely to have exemplary results on PASS English Language Arts (ELA) standards— Overall, Literary Text, Informational Text, and Research

If circulation per student met or exceeded 36 items annually:  All students  Disabled students  Subsidized meals students were more likely to show strengths on PASS Writing standards

Based on SC Impact Study Results, excelling on PASS Writing and ELA Standards was associated with the following: Having at least 1 full-time librarian and a full- or part-time library assistant Spending $7,500 or more annually and $13.33 or more per student Logging 20,000 or more checkouts and 36 or more items per student Providing access to 40 or more e-books Having public access computers in the school library and 18 or more (versus fewer than 6) elsewhere in the school

All students were more likely to meet HSAP standards and to perform at the proficient level or above, if their schools had: At least 1 full-time librarian At least 1 full-time library assistant Total library expenditures of $12,500 or more Total circulation of 7,500 or more checkouts Total print collection of 11,000 or more items Total E-book collection of 70 or more titles 15 or more group visits to the library per week

Students were more likely to succeed, if they had school library programs that were: Staffed Stocked Equipped Used by students Associations between library characteristics and student performance could not be explained away by demographics such as: Gender Race/ethnicity Disability and language status Poverty status (i.e., subsidized and free meals eligibility).

Interviewed 3 stakeholder groups Administrators, teachers, and librarians surveyed to determine how school librarians impact the teaching of writing and language arts Study linked data about school libraries and librarians to detailed standard level test results for both English Language Arts (Literary Text, Informational Text, and Research) Writing (Content and Organization)

Completed in October, 2014 Compared data from 3 stakeholder groups (administrators, teachers, and librarians) to the PASS/ HSAP data *Due to the small sample size for high school stakeholders, no conclusions could be drawn from the data.

 SC librarians volunteered themselves & nominated administrators & teachers with whom they worked to receive surveys StakeholdersNominatedResponded Administrators Teachers1, Librarians368321

Administrators were more likely to assess library teaching of standards as excellent, if they valued the following library policies and practices: Flexible scheduling of library access Librarian-teacher instructional collaboration Librarian-provided in-service professional development Regular principal-librarian meetings Inclusion of collaboration with the librarian in teacher evaluation.

Our librarians are leaders in our district. … It is so wonderful to see (them) share their passion for reading and learning not only with our students, but with our teachers! No longer are the libraries in our district a place where our students go to quietly pull a dusty encyclopedia off of the shelf... (they) serve as the hub of the school.... are exciting places, and our students are benefiting from it. District Director of Planning and Development

Administrator Survey Results associated with library excellence on standards Value as Essential/ Desirable ELA Literary Text Info Text ResearchWritingContentOrganization Flex schedule Collaboration In-service Meetings ? Teacher eval ??

Weekly Activities ELA Literary Text Info Text ResearchWritingContentOrganization Flex class visits Indiv/ group class time Libn invited to class Libn/Tchr collab Teacher learning new skills Across the board, teachers associate library activities with ELA and Writing excellence.

Weekly Activities ELA Literary Text Info Text ResearchWritingContentOrganization Collabo- rating w/teachers Invited to class ??? Help teachers learn new skills ??? Classes visit on flex ?? ??? Notable patterns: Impact of flexibly scheduled class visits is on Research Collaboration generally associated with all standards, but teacher-initiated activities not associated with Writing standards

South Carolina librarians either do not understand their impact on Writing performance in particular or, perhaps, actually are not having as great an impact on the teaching of those standards as they might. Given the perceptions of administrators and teachers, the former seems more likely.

Schools with stronger libraries tend to have better test results.

Getting the Word Out… School Libraries Work! seeks to empower librarians, classroom teachers, school and district leaders, policy makers, parents and communities by arming them with the most powerful research-based frameworks, recommendations, and support for school library programs. Download a copy of this report at

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