Back to Research Overview / Library

Independent Versus Computer-Assisted Reading: A Comparison

At a glance

  • Strong Evidence
  • Program: Amira Learning
  • Subjects: Assessment, Early Learning
  • Report Type: Efficacy Study, Study Conducted by Third Party
  • Grade Level: Elementary
  • Region: Northeast
  • Study Conducted by: Mostow, J, Aist, G., Burkhead, P., Corbett, A., Cuneo, A., Rossbach, S., & Tobin, B.
  • Publication Date: 2001

Abstract

A seven-month study of 178 students in Grades 1–4 at two schools compared two daily 20-minute treatments. Eighty-eight students did Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) in their classrooms. Ninety students in 10 computer labs used the 2000 version of Project LISTEN’s Reading Tutor (RT), which listens to a child read aloud, and gives spoken and graphical assistance. The RT group significantly outgained their statistically matched SSR classmates in word identification, word comprehension, passage comprehension, fluency, phonemic awareness, rapid letter naming, and spelling. The Reading Tutor made the greatest difference in grade 1, where effect sizes for these skills ranged from .20 to .72.

Citation

Mostow, J., Aist, G., Burkhead, P., Corbett, A., Cuneo, A., Rossbach, S., & Tobin, B. (2001). Independent versus computer-assisted reading: Equal-time comparison sustained silent reading to an automated reading tutor that listens. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/listen