Here are a number of sources below that document and discuss the role of school libraries in improving student achievement. These are all scientifically based and/or referenced research studies and articles that rightfully need to be included in all of our planning documents, including staff development and School Site Council Block Grant budget planning (our Single Plan for Student Achievement). I am also including a link to a copy of the document, "Single Plan for Student Achievement", which includes Department of Education instructions and legal references to expenditures of Block Grant funds, including funds from the "School and Library Improvement Block Grant" which CHS receives funding from. <http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/documents/spsaguide.doc> 

Articles and Statements About Reading Research by Dr. Stephen Krashen

The Hard Work Hypothesis: Is Doing Your Homework Enough to Overcome the Effects of Poverty? 
"My conclusions are also consistent with research showing that high performance on standardized tests of reading is consistently associated with access to print (Krashen, 1993, McQuillan, 1998), and that children of poverty have far less access to print (Neuman and Celano, 2000). This relationship holds because access to print results in more recreational reading, and more recreational reading results in more literacy development (Krashen, 1993). Massive amounts of traditional homework cannot build literacy nearly as effectively as hours of pleasure reading. The obvious part of the cure for children of poverty is more access to print, via better school and public libraries."

The "Decline" of Reading in America, Poverty and Access to Books, and the use of Comics in Encouraging Reading 
"To summarize, although there is no evidence for an obvious decline in interest in reading in the United States, there are many children who do not read well.  For the most part, these are children of poverty who have little access to books.  The solution to their "reading problem" is straight-forward: improved school and public libraries.  For those with access to books who are still "reluctant" readers, there is good reason to believe that comic book reading and other forms of light reading can serve as a conduit to "heavier" reading." 

Children's Literature: Very Good News and Very Bad News
"There is now overwhelming research showing that free voluntary reading is the primary source of our reading ability, our writing style, much of our vocabulary and spelling knowledge, and our ability to handle complex grammatical constructions. It has also been confirmed that those who read more know more: They know more about history, literature, and even have more "practical knowledge" (research reviewed in Krashen, 2004). But there are negative forces. One is the fact that this excellent literature is not available to everybody. Several studies show that children of poverty have little access to books at home, in their community and at school (e.g. De Loreto and Tse, 1999; Neuman and Celano, 2001). School libraries and public libraries in wealthier areas are far better than those in low-income areas, and Worthy's research (Worthy, Moorman, and Turner, 1999) shows that libraries tend not to carry much in the areas that are really of interest to children."

Free Voluntary Reading: New Research, Applications, and Controversies
"Recreational reading or reading for pleasure is the major source of our reading competence, our vocabulary, and our ability to handle complex grammatical constructions The evidence for FVR comes from correlational studies, showing that those who read more show superior literacy development, case histories of those whose growth in literacy and language is clearly attributable to free reading, and studies of in-school recreational reading, such as sustained silent reading (SSR)."

Free Reading
"If there were a surefire way to help kids become more literate, would you ignore it? Of course not. But that's exactly what's happening across much of our nation.... To help children get beyond the basics, we need to make sure they have easy access to books. For children of poverty, libraries are their only chance. To paraphrase what researchers Elley and Mangubhai said more than two decades ago, instead of making pious pronouncements about the importance of literacy and investing more in measuring the problem, we need to make the most obvious and reasonable investment-- and that means improving libraries for children who need them the most, children of poverty. Encouraging students to read for pleasure and providing them with interesting reading materials may not guarantee that every child will become a dedicated, highly literate reader, but its clearly a necessary step in the right direction."

Research and Articles That Refer to Research About Libraries, 
Library Staffing, Library Resources and Student Achievement

How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards: The Second Colorado Study (2000) Executive Summary
"How much will a school's test scores improve with specific improvements in its library media program? The answer depends on the library media (LM) program's current status, what it improves, and how much it is improved. When LM predictors are maximized (e.g., staffing, expenditures, and information resources and technology), CSAP reading scores tend to run 18 percent higher in fourth grade and 10 to 15 percent higher in seventh."

Libraries and Student Achievement: The importance of school libraries for improving student test scores
"At this point, there is a clear consensus in the results now available for about a dozen states: School libraries are a powerful force in the lives of America's children. The school library is one of the few factors whose contribution to academic achievement has been documented empirically, and it is a contribution that cannot be explained away by other powerful influences on student performance. If school decision makers want to be sure that they leave no child behind, the best insurance is a strong school library program."

School Libraries Work!
"When learners of all ages have the opportunity to read stories and explore information that matters to them, various forms of literacy and numeracy can emerge. Research has shown that school libraries have the tools to inspire literacy in learners of all ages. Research has shown that school libraries staffed by qualified library media specialists are needed to have a positive impact on student academic achievement." 

Students at New York Life Revitalizing High School Libraries Sites 
Talk About Why Their Library Media Centers “Rock”!
"Funded by the New York Life Foundation from 2003-2005, Revitalizing High School Libraries (RHSL) was a pilot program that allowed Public Education Network (PEN) and its member local education funds (RHSLs) in Minneapolis, San Francisco and Tampa to update and refurbish library media centers in four high schools. Findings from a survey administered in late 2005 to over 600 students across the participating high schools suggest that students in RHSL sites are reading more forfun as well as for class. They also suggest that students are talking more about books and reading with family and friends (see graph below). These behaviors are strongly associated with higher reading and academic achievement. "

School Library Impact Studies
Since 2000, studies on the impact of school libraries and librarians on academic achievement have been conducted in Colorado and more than a dozen other states. This page links to those studies and related articles.