THE IMPACT OF A DIVERSE CLASSROOM LIBRARY

Understanding the impact of diverse books is particularly critical for the children First Book serves: the more than 27 million children ages 0-18 who are growing up in low-income communities. In previous surveys conducted by First Book Research & Insights, 90% of educators responding indicated that their students would be more enthusiastic readers if they had access to books with characters, stories, and images that reflect their lives.

This study reveals that increasing access to diverse books in the classroom environment increases the amount of time that children spend reading, and positively impacts students’ reading scores. It also reveals that while educators almost uniformly believe that a diverse classroom library is important, most classroom libraries fall far short of representing or reflecting the current diverse student population. Given these initial findings from our pilot study, additional research is needed to further understand the impact of diverse books.

Students’ reading scores increased after educators added diverse books to their classroom libraries.

• •Educators reported gains in reading assessment scores for each bi-monthly survey period. The increases were 3 points higher (+9) than nationally expected average yearly gains.
• •Gains were greatest for the lowest scoring students (+11).
• •Classrooms that added bilingual titles and titles representing the LGBTQ+ community had the greatest improvements in student reading scores and reading engagement.
• •For every 1 additional bilingual book that educators added to their classroom library, student reading assessment scores improved by 7 points on average.
• •For every 1 additional LGBTQ+ book that educators added to their classroom library, student reading assessment scores improved by 4.5 points on average.

Students spent more time reading after educators added diverse books to their classroom libraries.

• •Over the course of this study, collective student reading time increased by 4 hours per week on average after educators added new, diverse books to their classrooms.
• •70% of educators reported that their students more often choose books that feature characters that look like them (books that serve as mirrors).
• •Educators believe that diverse books are important, but diverse books are a small percentage of their classroom libraries.

First Book Research & Insights drives meaningful change by aggregating and amplifying the needs, market power, and voices of those in our Network. Through First Book’s extensive quantitative and qualitative research, this community of educators provides insights guiding the design of programs, partnerships, and the resources we offer. Research & Insights informs how to develop products, curriculum and digital resources that will be most relevant and impactful for all serving children in need.