Objective and Perceived Reading Performance in High School Students: An Empirical Study Comparing Reading Media and Methods

Abstract

Despite advancement in display technology, traditional reading approaches, such as reading on paper or employing oral reading, are recommended for achieving high levels of reading performance (RP). This study aims to investigate potential differences in RP among high school students based on two factors: reading media (paper versus screen), and methods (silent versus oral). Our study with 63 participants reveals that perceived RP is higher when reading on paper compared to reading on screen. Additionally, perceived RP is higher during oral reading than silent reading. However, objective RP did not show significant differences based on either reading media and methods. The absence of a difference in objective RP suggests that concerns regarding low objective RP on screen of digital media may no longer be significant, given the current quality of displays. Nevertheless, the persistent preference for paper over screen reading, as indicated by perceived RP, poses a challenge that digital media design must address.

Keywords: Screen reading, Objective reading performance, Perceived reading performance, Reading medium, Reading method