School Library Program Assessment
Our goal is for all school library programs to consistently strive to grow in order to better empower and support our students.
School library programs are complex and multifaceted. It can be a challenge for those outside of the library profession to envision what a strong school library program can look like.
We created the School Library Program Assessment to help MTACs have productive conversation about the school library program, its strengths, and its needs. It is one of many tools that school library media coordinators can use to facilitate these conversations. The School Library Program Assessment was adapted from the AASL School Library Evaluation Checklist, Future Ready Librarians Framework, and YALSA Reimagined Library Services for and with Teens.
We revised the School Library Program Assessment and the School Library Program Report that it generates at the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
Click here to create a copy of the School Library Program Assessment for you to use with your MTAC.
After completing the School Library Program Assessment, copy and paste the results into this sheet to generate your custom School Library Program Report. You can use this report to help drive conversations about the goals you and your MTAC set for your school library program.
This screencast demonstrates step-by-step directions for generating your School Library Program Report.
You can also view step-by-step directions in this document: Generating Your School Library Program Report
*Some schools may wish to have MTAC members each take the survey individually, and then compile the individual responses to generate the School Library Program Report. This spreadsheet can help you compile individual survey responses from MTAC members: Compiling Multiple Survey Responses for School Library Program Assessment Data. Contact Susan Bock if you need help with this.
FAQ:
How often should my MTAC take the School Library Program Assessment?
It’s up to you. All schools completed the assessment in the 2018-2019 school year, and have access to that initial data. Some schools have chosen to reassess at the end of each school year as a way to measure their progress toward their goals. We recommend that you begin each school year by reviewing the most recent School Library Program Assessment data. If your MTAC determines that the results are still an accurate representation of the school library program, then it may not be necessary to retake the assessment. If your MTAC determines the results are outdated, you may decide to retake all or parts of the assessment. Library Media Services recommends retaking the entire assessment if results are more than 3 years old.
What is the best way to take the School Library Program Assessment?
The assessment was designed to be taken collaboratively as an MTAC, meaning that the group would discuss the statements, come to a consensus on the answer, and enter in one response to the survey. When conducted this way, it may take an entire MTAC meeting to complete. The discussion that occurs while working through the survey as a team is just as valuable as the survey’s final results. Many schools found that it was useful to be able to provide the statements within the survey to MTAC members ahead of time. Other schools completed the survey in chunks, instead of all at once. You are welcome to use whatever strategies work best for your MTAC.