The Impact of E-Readers on the Domains of Reading Comprehension in High School Students

n this quasi-experimental static comparison group design, a homogenous sample of 128 American Literature (high school juniors) students were placed in a comparison and treatment group to determine whether e-readers can improve decoding skills and language comprehension, the two main domains of reading comprehension. Both groups took a pre- and posttest that measured their reading comprehension skills in both areas. The comparison group read a class assigned novel in a traditional paperback version while the treatment group read the novel on either a Kindle or a Kindle app on his or her smart phone or device. The treatment group was given a tutorial on how to use the various tools contained within the e-reader the participant was using, and the participants were encouraged to utilize those tools. Upon analyzing the data, there was no significant difference in decoding rates; however, language comprehension was improved in the e-reader group. A possible explanation for the e-reading improvement is the use of the tools that allowed for improved vocabulary comprehension, expansion of prior knowledge, and encouragement of metacognition. Further studies with specialized and groups would help to validate the inclusion of e-reading technology into more schools. Also, more research among varied age groups would help to show if decoding rates could be improved using e-readers