Does Increased Access to Free Books Improve Reading Achievement? A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Reading Is Fundamental Books for Ownership Program

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Literacy Development and Achievement across the Lifespan

Abstract

In this preregistered school-level randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the literacy impacts of Books for Ownership (BFO), Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) flagship book distribution program. During the 2022–23 school year, third-grade students in 30 randomly selected Miami-Dade County public schools participated in RIF “book celebrations” and received three free books, while students in 30 control schools did not. Tracking longitudinal outcomes for the baseline third-grade cohort, we found small, non-statistically significant effects on the Florida state reading test in spring 2023 (d = 0.03), fall 2023 (d = 0.02), and spring 2024 (d = 0.002). Insights from other recent randomized studies of book distribution programs provide helpful context for interpreting these results.

Authors

• Geoffrey D. Borman, Arizona State University

• Hyunwoo Yang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong