Report on the Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement

4.4 Accountability

As well as the development of curriculum frameworks that support the introduction of information literacy standards in defining learning outcomes, a stronger focus at both federal and State levels on literacy and numeracy skills, and a move towards more collaborative school planning, decision-making and management, greater accountability for schools administering global budgets (and making staffing decisions) has meant a consequent emphasis on performance indicators and quality assurance. As Williams, Wavell and Coles (2001) point out, the need to use data to show the effective impact in terms of outcomes rather than outputs 'poses new challenges for demonstrating impact in areas such as attainment and learning' (p. 3). Hence the question becomes: what are the indicators for effective learning in the school library? If school libraries are to be adequately staffed and resourced, and if their expertise is to be considered fundamental to curriculum development rather than complementary or peripheral, then their impact on student learning needs to be made explicit. Oberg (2001b) points out that the question of how school libraries can show that they make a difference in student learning is not a new question but has 'a particular urgency at this time' (p. 15) because of the demands for accountability and measurable outcomes.