Independent Reading Online at School: Effects on Reading Comprehension

• In Event: Print to Digital in the Language Arts: Small-Scale Studies of Digital Innovation

Abstract

Purpose: Research into the effects of reading volume and reading achievement shows that time spent reading at school and at home are positively related to reading achievement (Allington, 2009; Picton, 2014). E-book reading programs have built-in data dashboards that provide data on both quantity and quality of reading during independent reading. This paper examines the effect of e-book reading volume on students’ reading achievement.

Method: Students in third, fourth and fifth grade (n = 135) engaged in online independent reading using iPads with three different programs as part of the English Language Arts block. Students in Program A, self-selected novels and non-fiction books, highlighted and annotated the text, and completed embedded assessments. In Program B, students read short (<24pp) leveled texts written specifically for the program and completed post-reading quizzes. In Program C, students read either narratives or short leveled texts, highlighted and annotated the text, and completed post-reading quizzes.

Descriptive statistics and OLS regression were used to examine the relationship between reading volume (total minutes spent e-reading; total books completed; total number of pages read) and reading achievement (Measures of Academic Performance [MAP]). Fourth and fifth grade students took the MAP assessment in fall and spring, and third grade students took MAP only in the spring. For fourth and fifth grade students, a gain score was calculated using the fall and spring MAP scores.

Results: Overall e-reading volume was low. Third grade students read e-books an average of 21 hours, fourth grade 8 hours, and fifth grade 13 hours across all three online programs. Correlation between total minutes read and reading achievement varies by grade, with grade 3 having a positive correlation (r = .5227), grade 4 having a negative correlation (r = -.3500) and grade 5 having no correlation (r = -.1802). Correlation between e-reading volume and reading achievement varies by program, with Programs A and C positively related to reading achievement, and Program B negatively related to reading achievement.

Regression results show a positive association for time spent reading on Program A and Program C with spring reading achievement and no association for Program B. Controlling for prior achievement reduces this effect. Likewise, there is a small positive association between total pages read and the total number of books read and reading achievement, but this effect is reduced when controlling for prior achievement. There is no association between time, pages or number of books and reading gain scores for fourth and fifth grade students.

Significance: Overall results suggest there is a link between reading volume on e-books and reading achievement, and that there may be a minimum threshold of time spent reading before a positive relationship is observed. Additionally, results suggest that quality of e-book program is important for reading achievement, with upper elementary grade students benefiting from reading longer, more authentic texts.

Authors

• Laura Northrop, University of Pittsburgh

• Catherine A Rosemary, John Carroll University