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May 18, 2007
University Park, PA—Librarians from central Pennsylvania got together at a recent workshop to discuss information literacy skills and how they fit in with the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) anchors used by teachers to assess students’ progress. While information literacy skills are embedded within these anchors, they are not explicitly emphasized. Does the PSSA, then, fail to adequately assess such core skills, and how can school librarians address this? The workshop “Aligning the PSSA Assessment Anchors with K-16 Information Literacy Standards” raised a number of issues faced by school librarians, and also provided a platform for participants to share their practices with others.
Information Literacy Librarian Ellysa Cahoy says librarians have a “special responsibility” for assessing students in those PSSA anchors that relate to information literacy. “Librarians can use successful assessment results, mapped to specific assessment anchors, to show how they are helping teach students skills relevant to the PSSA. This in turn reinforces the validity, impact and importance of the school library and librarian,” she says.
Among the issues raised in the workshop were time constraints and fixed scheduling, pressure on teachers to “teach to the test,” and limited resources, but perhaps the most significant was the lack of communication between librarians and teachers on students’ research needs, hindering effective collaboration on projects. Participants agreed that school administrators needed to be aware of this issue, and as a result, the organizers plan to offer a workshop specifically for school administrators and librarians in the future.
Penn State University Libraries held the first Central Pennsylvania Librarians K-16 Information Literacy Network Workshop in 2005. This annual event allows school, public and higher education librarians to discuss issues facing the profession and share ideas on developing and assessing information literacy skills in students. This year’s topic, says Cahoy, was chosen from past feedback received from school librarians.
Editor's Contact:
Lana Munip, 814-863-4265