TEXAS SCHOOL LIBRARIES: STANDARDS, RESOURCES, SERVICES, AND STUDENTS PERFORMANCE Prepared by: EGS Research and Consulting Prepared for: Texas State Library and Archives Commission 1201 Brazos Street Austin, TX April, 2001

Study Objectives 1) Examine school library resources, services, and use, on the basis of the School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas and determine the need for updating these standards and guidelines so that they better serve communities across the State.

Study Objectives 2) Determine the impact that school libraries have on student performance as measured by the percent of students who met minimum expectations on the reading portion of the statewide standardized test, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS.)

Study Objectives 3) Highlight library practices in the best performing schools.

URL for Texas Study Report index.html

Data Collection Data were collected from a random sample of 600 Texas school libraries with librarians. Secondary data on school characteristics and student TAAS performance from the Texas Education Agencys Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). Community economic data from the Federal Reserve Boards Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) web site.

Table V. 1: Mean Percent of Students Who Met Minimum TAAS Expectations

Table V. 2: Percent of Schools Where Over 90 Percent of Students Met Minimum TAAS Expectations

Key Results One-quarter of the schools in Texas do not have librarians.

Key Results Schools without librarians are lower performing on TAAS than schools with librarians.

Key Results Librarian activities that have an impact on student performance include planning and teaching collaboratively with teachers and training teachers. In libraries with professional librarians and aides, staff expend a larger portion of their time engaging in these high-priority collaborative, curriculum integration activities which are associated with higher TAAS performance.

Key Results In libraries with only a librarian, these key collaborative, curriculum integration activities are not being performed because, without the assistance of an aide, the librarian does not have the time to engage in them.

Key Results In libraries with library aides only, these activities are not being performed because library aides are not trained to perform them.

Key Results Libraries staffed with librarians and aides are associated with increased library use as measured by more visits to the library by individual students, more information skills instruction, and more books and materials checked out.

Key Results For libraries to have the greatest impact on student performance, libraries need to be staffed, at minimum, with both a librarian and an aide.

Key Results The growing presence of networked resources in the library has increased the importance of the training role of librarians with regard to the integration of these technology resources into the curriculum.

Key Results Socio-economic Variables and TAAS Performance 26 percent of at the elementary school level 44 percent of at the middle school level 55 percent at the high school level.

Key Results Library variables and TAAS performance 4.0 percent of at the elementary school level 3.9 percent of at the middle school level 8.2 percent at the high school level

Library Variables Associated with Student Achievement: Elementary School Library volumes purchased in per 100 students Library operational expenditures per student Library computers connected to a modem per 100 students Library software packages per 100 students

Library Variables Associated with Student Achievement: Middle School Identifying materials for instructional units developed by teachers Providing information skills instruction to individuals or groups

Library Variables Associated with Student Achievement: High School Library staff per 100 students Library staff hours per 100 students Library hours of operation per 100 students Volumes per student

Library Variables Associated with Student Achievement: High School Current subscriptions to magazines and newspapers per 100 students Planning instructional units with teachers Providing staff development to teachers

Library Program Management: Funding Libraries operating budgets are strongly associated with Collection size The currency of the collection Libraries staffing resources

Library Program Management: Staffing Libraries with higher librarian staffing levels and hours: Accommodate greater use of the library and its resources Allow more students to visit the library Enable more materials to be checked out. Have larger and more current collections and larger technology and financial resources.

Time Analysis: Basic Library Services Basic library activities, such as checking materials, shelving, processing and retrieving: 43 percent in elementary school libraries to 46 percent in high school libraries. Administration: 21 percent to 24 percent. Information access and delivery: 17 percent to 24 percent. Teaching and staff training: 12 to 16 percent.

Time Analysis: Curriculum Integration Library staff who engage in curriculum integration activities spend on average the following percentage of their time: Providing staff development to teachers and other school staff: 1.1 to 1.5 percent Teaching cooperatively with teachers: 5.1 to 8.0 percent Participating on curriculum committees: 1.4 to 2.3 percent Planning instructional units with teachers: 2.3 to 3.1 percent

Library Resources Factors in Student Achievement: Currency of the library collection Size of the library collection

Facilities: Hours of Operation Libraries with larger operating budgets and more diverse collections are likely to be open longer hours. Longer hours of operation are associated with greater library use, as reflected by the number of visits to the library and the volume of materials checked out.

Ad Hoc Committee to Revise and Update School Library Standards Steering Committee: TEA, SBOE, and TSLAC Advisory Committee: TASL, ESCs, TLA Advisory Reaction Committee: TEA, TSLAC, and University and College Representatives Five Component Committees: District Level Staff Five Component Reaction Committees: Building Level Staff