School libraries & student achievement in Ontario : School libraries and student achievement in Ontario

In particular, school libraries have been vulnerable to funding cuts, a trend that has been docu- mented in the United States1 and across Canada.2 This study provides the first Canadian analysis of the relationship be- tween student achievement and library resources and staff. [...] Schools that rely on others* to staff the library tended to have lower achievement both in terms of the average achievement of all students and in relation to the number of grade 3 students who would obtain at least a level 3 score. [...] In all coun- The performance of Canada’s youth in reading, mathematics and science: tries, except Mexico, and OECD PISA Study12 in all provinces there was a significant difference in reading achievement be- The analysis of EQAO and People for Education data shows a signifi- tween those who bor- cant association between reading enjoyment and the presence of a rowed [books once per teacher-librarian [...] This Lance has studied the effect of school libraries on students at risk, using is critical for readers such indicators as the percentage of minority students, the percentage of who may have had many years of failure free lunch students, and the percentage of adults in the community who and who may associate graduated from high school. [...] A recent study sponsored by Heritage Canada and the Association of Canadian Publishers, The Crisis in Canada’s School Libraries, de- scribes the national decline of school libraries, and emphasizes their importance to students and Canadian culture.