AASL studies

 AASL’s final snapshot survey results found changes have occurred over the past year that will impact school librarian practice for years to come. Respondents noted that their role in their school district or building increased during the current school year. When asked how their practices have changed, technology troubleshooting, e-book promotion, virtual professional development, and step-by-step instructional material for use of online tools and databases received the most “doing more” responses.

AASL. (2021). Final school library snapshot survey results. Knowledge Quest. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/final-school-library-snapshot-survey-results/

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New research published in AASL’s peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research (SLR), explores three topics. SLR articles can be accessed for free at www.ala.org/aasl/slr.

1) Kammer et al. examined successfully completed collaborative projects at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Each project used integrated instruction or curriculum and were analyzed within the context of “what strategies make collaboration successful? 

2) Burns and Dawkins explored the alignment of the Standards Framework for School Librarians from AASL’s National School Library Standards with the ALA/AASL/CAEP Preparation Standards. The research team’s goal was to identify overlap between expectations school librarians are presented with during their preparation for practice and the Competencies they are asked to demonstrate in practice.

3) Thpmpson et al. examined the difference in school librarians’ teacher self-efficacy among those who worked in elementary, middle, and high schools. The research team attempted to determine if elementary school librarians’ self-efficacy could be a predictor of reading scores for the schools’ overall average rates on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessment.

• Kammer, Jenna, Matt King, Allison Donahay, and Heather Koeberl. “Strategies for Successful School Librarian and Teacher Collaboration.”
• Burns, Elizabeth, and April M. Dawkins. “School Librarian Preparation and Practice: An Exploration of the AASL National School Library Standards and ALA/AASL/CAEP School Librarian Preparation Standards.”
• Thompson, Jessica, Michelle Barthlow, and Kelly Paynter. “School Librarians’ Teacher Self-Efficacy: A Predictor of Reading Scores?”

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Study on strategies to curb student learning loss during the pandemic

 

Researchers say early data shows the pandemic is taking a toll on student learning. They concluded that children have lost at least one and a half months of reading, with students of color faring worse. And some experts say the loss could be even worse because some of the most vulnerable students may not be regularly attending class online or taking assessments this year. The report  details five strategies schools are taking to curb these losses: tutoring; lengthening the school year; ensuring learning materials are at grade level; partnering with community organizations; and tapping parents as partners in boosting literacy.

Dorn, E. et al. (2020, Dec. 8). COVID19 and learning loss. McKinsey.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-learning-loss-disparities-grow-and-students-need-help

Relationship Between Test Preparation and Quality of Instruction

This study contributes empirical evidence about the negative relationship between test preparation and ambitious mathematics instruction. Drawing on classroom observations and teacher surveys, the study finds that test preparation activities predict lower quality and less ambitious mathematics instruction in upper-elementary classrooms. However, the researchers assert that the magnitudes of these relationships appear smaller than expected. Furthermore, the findings call into question the hypothesis that test rigor can serve as a lever to elevate test preparation to ambitious teaching. Therefore, the researchers assert that improving the quality of mathematics instruction in the midst of high-stakes testing likely will require that policymakers and school leaders undertake comprehensive efforts that look beyond the tests themselves.

Blazar, D., & Cynthia, M. (2017) Does test preparation mean low-quality instruction? Educational Researcher. 46(8), 420-433. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X17732753

Reading promotion strategies study

A study was conducted to identify the different strategies elementary and middle school librarians in Puerto Rico are currently using to promote reading appreciation. Some of the conclusions indicate that school librarians consider Library Week a key activity for the promotion of reading appreciation, and the Internet as a key resource for the implementation of the different activities they design. The conclusions also acknowledge that school librarians face different challenges, the most difficult being collaboration and support from the students’ parents. The school librarian as motivational agent and strategist for reading appreciation.
Dominguez, N. et al. (2016). The school librarian as motivational agent and strategist for reading appreciation. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 48(3), 236-246.

California Truancy Report

This report is the first to present state-wide statistics on California's truancy crisis which reveal that, last year alone, 1 million elementary school students were truant and 250,000 elementary school students missed 18 or more school days at a cost of $1.4 billion in lost funds to California school districts. According to the report, elementary school truancy is at the root of the state's chronic criminal justice problems. According to the report, missing large amounts of school is one of the strongest predictors of dropping-out, even more so than suspensions or test scores. Annually, dropouts cost California taxpayers an estimated $46.4 billion in incarceration, lost productivity and lost taxes.
Harris, K. (2013). In School + On Track: Attorney General's Report on California's Elementary School Truancy and Absenteeism Crisis. Sacramento: California Department of Justice.
http://www.issuelab.org/resource/in_school_on_track_attorney_generals_report_on_californias_elementary_school_truancy_and_absenteeism_crisis

California teachers find science lessons lacking

In California, elementary-school teachers say they have less time to teach science because of an increased focus on students' achievement in reading and math, according to a recent survey. About 10% of elementary students routinely engage in hands-on science lessons, and teachers reported they lack resources and training to teach the course. The result, officials say, has been lower scores on standardized science exams.
Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. (2011). High Hopes – Few Opportunities: The Status of Elementary Science Education in California.
http://www.cftl.org/documents/2011/StrengtheningScience_full.pdf

Early Grade Retention and Student Success Study

Early Grade Retention and Student Success: Evidence From Los Angeles


Analyzes risk factors of retention through third grade in the L.A. Unified School District, including age, gender, race/ethnicity, family income, and English learner status; retention's effectiveness in improving grade-level skills; and educators' views.

Public Policy Institute of California, Cannon, Jill S.; Stephen Lipscomb, March 2011, PDF link here

Study: Exercise improves math skills

Regular exercise in an after-school program helped sedentary, overweight children perform better on goal-oriented tasks, according to a study. The exercise also seemed to improve math skills, an area of great concern for U.S. educators. In the study, published online in the journal Health Psychology, children ages 7 to 11 in Augusta, Ga., were assigned to a group that got 20 minutes of aerobic exercise in an after-school program at the institute, one that got 40 minutes of exercise in a similar program, or a group that had no exercise program. The study used assessment tests to gauge cognitive and academic achievement.
Georgia Prevention Institute at Georgia Health Sciences University, 2011, EdWeek Exercise Improves Math Skills, Brain Study Suggests

Study: Language-Based Intervention assists with Math Skills

Students who struggle with basic math may benefit from language-based interventions, according to a series of recent studies. "The way we conceive of numbers evolves from language," said a co-author of the study. "Children learn this stuff before they learn to read, before word problems become a problem. If you can't understand what [five] means, you can't add, you can't do basic math."
EdWeek, 2011, Studies Find Language Key is Key to Learning Math

California elementary achievement

California elementaries not on track to meet AYP targets in 2014
California elementary schools on average have boosted student proficiency by less than 4 percentage points annually since 2003, indicating that few will meet adequate yearly progress this year as the state requires a 11 percentage-point jump in proficiency rates, according to research led by a professor at the University of California, Riverside. "We're hitting a balloon payment scenario, to use a housing analogy, where the expectations set forth in the federal law are far higher than recent performance levels."
Bryant, M., et al. (2008, Sept. 26). ASSESSMENT: School Performance Will Fail to Meet Legislated Benchmarks. Science, 1781-1782