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In California we have just implemented a statewide off the shelf test =
for grades 2-11 and the reading results aren't as good as we'd like.  =
Many comments are coming out about why that's the case, including =
need for phonics, remedial reading at higher grades, more time for =
reading, etc.   I sent the following letter to a reporter who wrote =
one article and though it might have some ideas or ammunition that =
could help you fight for more books for your libraries.  Please feel =
free to use it, take from it, etc.
*************

Your article on the statewide reading scores stated, "researchers =
found that high school students were reading less at home and school, =
doing less recreational reading and tended to have fewer reading =
materials available to them at home."

What can be done to improve student achievement?  Research studies on =
the factors affecting student achievement state that the school =
library is a vital component of student success in school.

School Match, a company that helps businesses relocate their staff, =
reported in 1987 that the strongest predictor of high student =
performance is the amount spent on the school library media program.1 =
  A 1992 research study by the U.S. Department of Education found =
that=B2among school and community predictors of academic achievement, =
the size of the library media center staff and collection is second =
only to the absence of at-risk conditions, particularly poverty and =
low educational attainment among adults.=B2  When controlled for =
these social and economic differences, they found that =B3students at =
schools with better funded library media centers have higher than =
average test scores, whether their schools and communities are rich =
or poor and whether adults in the community are well or poorly =
educated.=B22

School libraries are the great equalizer, providing access to a print =
and information rich environment that, for many students, can only be =
experienced in their school library.  Literacy is usually defined as =
getting meaning from text.  However, a necessary aspect of literacy =
is putting meaning into the text.  Students bring their own =
experiences to the reading process.  If they have learned the basic =
phonics and other skills of reading, they must have a rich base of =
experiences in order to really understand what they read, to be truly =
literate and to put meaning into the text.

Growing up in a small town in northern Minnesota I had access to a =
school library with a part time credentialed school librarian and =
walls lined with books.  I didn=B9t have much opportunity to travel =
or experience the world directly in that town of 600 people, but I =
can, even now, almost 40 years later, vividly remember books, poems =
and films that made an impact on me.  Those experiences are as much a =
part of what I bring to literacy as the experiences I have had in =
life.

Too many students in California have a limited base of experience.   =
Reading many books, listening to stories, viewing films and videos, =
traveling, and  experiencing many things builds up this base, this =
storehouse of experience that Edgar Dale called the =B3capital fund =
of past experiences.=B2  Those of you in business know that the =
biggest mistake made when going into business for yourself that will =
almost certainly lead to failure is that of undercapitalization.  =
This is also true in education.  We allow our children to be =
undercapitalized, we deny them the experiences that they need to be =
successful.

Though we cannot give every student the number of direct experiences =
they really deserve, we can provide them with a well supplied, well =
staffed school library that can give them their own =B3capital fund =
of past experiences.=B2  The key is to read, read, read, and then, =
read some more!

Stephen Krashen reports numerous research studies3 that show the =
effect of school libraries on children=B9s reading.  Children in =
schools with no library read half as much as children in schools with =
libraries. Children who had access to school libraries read more than =
students with access only to classroom collections of books.  He also =
describes numerous studies that have consistently proven that =B3more =
reading results in better reading comprehension, writing style, =
vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical development.=B2

To improve student reading, we must improve our school libraries.  =
It=B9s as simple as that.  To take away the school library  is =
especially disastrous in poorer communities where students may lack =
this necessary print-rich environment in their homes and where they =
are less apt to visit their public library, if one exists and is =
accessible to them.  A recent research study that looked at the =
number of books in homes, school libraries and communities in Beverly =
Hills, Compton and Watts (communities within only a few miles of each =
other) found that children in the poorer communities had access to =
many fewer books in every location, not just their homes.

One reason for the poor scores might just be the dismal state of so =
many school libraries in California for many years.   Maybe that=B9s =
one reason why California schools have done so poorly over the last =
couple of decades, we have literally starved and abandoned our school =
libraries.

 1.  Lynch, Mary Jo and Ann Weeks, =B3School Match revisited,=B2 =
American Libraries, June 1988, pp. 459-60.
2.   Lance, Keith Curry, et al, The Impact of School Library Media =
Centers on Academic Achievement, Hi Willow Research and Publishing, =
Castle Rock, CO, 1993, page 92-93.
3.   Krashen, Stephen, The Power of Reading, Libraries Unlimited, =
Inc., Englewood, CO, 1993

Susan Martimo Choi
Director, Educational Media Center
Santa Clara County Office of Education
and
Past-President
California School Library Association
and
School Board Member
Morgan Hill Unified School District

HM PH: (408) 578-3098
HM Email:  smchoi@ix.netcom.com
WK Email:  Susan_Choi@sccoe.k12.ca.us

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