This paper looks at how the goals for school library media programs are aligned with the goals of education in general and what this alignment means in terms of the allocation of resources. Citing the 1983 report, "A Nation at Risk," it argues that there may be a disparity between the actual value of the school library media program and its perceived value by people outside the library profession. The implications of this dilemma are pointed out and an evaluation study conducted in a rural school system in North Carolina is detailed to illustrate the points made. Twenty fourth-grade students were randomly selected from each of four schools (as determined by school administrative staff and ranked according to their compliance with school library media program guidelines); two of the schools had the highest ranked media programs and two schools had the lowest ranked programs. Standardized achievement test data in the areas of reference skills and reading were then gathered for each student and T-tests were conducted to test hypotheses of group differences. Students in schools with good library media programs scored significantly higher on both reference and reading skills, suggesting that the quality of the library media program may be related to student achievement. Statistical results of the study and a 10-item bibliography are included. (THC)