Submitted to Minneapolis Star Tribune but not published (02/18/2010)

Libraries or coaches?

St. Paul thinks that "coaches" can intervene and raise reading scores
for lower grade and high school students ("St. Paul schools rev up for
test season," Feb 18).

I wonder if St. Paul Public Schools are aware of the tremendous amount
of research that consistently shows that the amount of self-selected
voluntary reading students do is strongly related to reading test
scores: Those who read more read better, have larger vocabularies,
write better, spell better and have better control of complex
grammatical constructions.

Students who score poorly on reading tests are typically those who
live in poverty, and who have little access to good reading material
at home or in their communities. Research also confirms that better
school libraries and the presence of credentialed librarians are
related to higher reading test scores. The obvious step to take is to
increase support for school libraries and school librarians.

Coaching is a short-term action that may or may not help the few
students served. Improving libraries and library staffing is a
long-term solution that will benefit all students.

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