DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS)

DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY’S Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) Do Public Library Summer Reading Programs Impact Student Achievement? A National Leadership Grant funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Science (IMLS)

Agenda: December 3, 2009 Brief overview of research about summer and reading Brief overview of research about public library summer reading programs and student achievement Highlights of this new study Findings Implications Questions and Answers

Research on Summer and Reading Learning when school is not in session (Schacter & Jo, 2005) Teacher and parent scaffolding of voluntary summer reading (White & Kim, 2008) Impacts of a summer learning program (Chaplin & Capizzano, 2006) When Schools Close, the Knowledge Gap Grows (Celano & Neuman, 2008)

Research on Summer and Public Libraries Summer learning and the effects of schooling (Heyns, 1978) Evaluation of the public library summer reading program (Los Angeles County Public Library Foundation, 2001) Summer reading: “Guys Read” (Hennepin County Public Library, 2007) Summer reading: Program and evidence (Shin & Krashen, 2008)

Public Library Summer Reading Programs 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 three-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 1.Do students entering fourth grade who participate in the library summer reading clubs experience summer learning loss in reading achievement? 2.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? 3.Does the level of participation in summer reading programs predict higher levels of reading performance and motivation for students entering fourth grade?

Beginnings of Study 1.Received grant funding to start, October Original Partners/Contractors 3.Formed Advisory Board: Dominican University Susan Roman Janice Del Negro Tracie Hall Carole Fiore (Project Manager)

Beginnings of Study Formed Advisory Board (continued) Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning Ronald Fairchild Susanne Sparks Colorado State Library Eugene Hainer Patricia Froelich Texas State Library and Archives Commission Peggy Rudd Christine McNew

Beginnings of Study Formed Advisory Board (continued) American Library Association Penny Markey (ASLC representative) Denise Davis (Office for Research & Statistics) 4.Met at ALA Midwinter Meeting – January Refined plan for conducting research pilot site: El Paso, Texas Public Library (Summer 2007)

Beginnings of Study 6.Promoted program/student throughout fall Selected sites and conducted necessary training in spring Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval spring 2008

Study Participant Selection Criteria Entire school populations 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 six weeks of programming Accepted eleven school/library pairs

Eleven Participating Sites

Procedure

Study Timeline Spring–Fall, 2007 Instrument development Pilot study Modification of research method

Study Timeline Fall-Winter, Recruitment of sites Study website established Applications submitted online Deadline for submission: October 31, schools and 34 libraries applied 18 complete paired applications received Orientation of participating pairs

Study Timeline Spring-Summer, 2008 Parent consent SRI pretest Public library summer program implementation Study summer reading logs kept by program participants Public librarian survey and interview

Summer 2008: 11 sites, 400 students Parental Consent Spring 2008, pre-test 3 rd graders SRI Students participate in summer library program –Student Summer Reading Program Log Fall 2008, post-test same 4 th graders SRI –Student Survey –Parent Survey –Teacher Survey –Library Staff Survey –Structured Library Staff Interview

Winter-Spring, Data analysis Preliminary data reported at presentations at: –National Conference of Center for Summer Learning (N-CSL); –American Library Association (ALA); –American Educational Research Association (AERA)

Method Participants –Students entering 4 th grade No individualized education plans –Librarians delivering the summer program –Parents teachers (via surveys) Settings –11 geographic U.S. sites –Title I schools and library partners

Method (continued) Design –Casual comparative Analyses –Descriptive Statistics –Inferential Statistics

Method (continued) Instruments and Materials –Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) enterprise Edition (only available in English) –Surveys:Student Parents 4 th Grade Teacher Library Staff –Summer Library Reading Log –Structured Librarian Interview

Summer Library Reading Programs Nine (9) central city libraries All public librarians visited schools during spring, 2008 Authentic programming 6 to 12 weeks Student reading log

RESULTS

Evaluation Question 1: Demographic Characteristics Spring SRI Scores Is there a difference between students completing third grade who choose to participate in a public library summer library reading program and students who do not participate?

Evaluation Question 2: Spring to Fall 2008 SRI Scores Does participation in a summer library reading program maintain or improve student reading ability during the summer school break?

Evaluation Question 3: Student Surveys Parent Surveys Student Reading Logs Is there a difference between literacy indicators for students who completed third grade and choose to participate in a public library summer reading program and students who do not participate?

CONCLUSIONS

Evaluation Question 1: Difference between groups, PLSRP: –More girls –Less FaRM –More Caucasian PLSRP students notably higher spring 2008 SRI scores PLSRP profile Is there a difference between students completing third grade who choose to participate in a public library summer library reading program and students who do not participate?

Evaluation Question 2: All students maintained across summer –No significant decline across summer PLSRP students score higher –Significant only for Spring 2008 Does participation in a summer library reading program maintain or improve student reading ability during the summer school break?

Evaluation Question 3: YES! PLSRP students: Active and engaged readers, Utilized libraries Is there a difference between literacy indicators for students who completed third grade and choose to participate in a public library summer reading program and students who do not participate? PLSRP parents: higher level of library usage, more books in home, more home literacy activities

Factors to Consider PLSRP participation is self-reported Children who did not participate in a PLSRP may/will have engaged in other summer learning activities Formal agreement between libraries and schools Public libraries had full control over summer programs

IMPLICATIONS

Implications Reach out to non-readers and under-performing students Reach out to lower SES families Reach out to boys Market to parents Reach out to parents of preschoolers Offer incentives to parents

Implications (continued) Partner with schools – teachers, as well as librarians Use the money for books Encourage families to get library cards Stress strong social aspect of clubs Expand definition of reading Reach out to Grandparents as well as caring adults

URL Graduate_School_of_Library_and_Information_ Science/Summer_Reading.jnz

How to Contact Us Susan Roman, Dean Graduate School of Library and Information Science Deborah Carran National Center for Summer Learning, Johns Hopkins University Carol Fiore, Project Manager