CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 7Reading and Literacy DevelopmentLiteracy and Educational PracticesEarly Childhood Education and Development

Building a Stronger Case for Independent Reading at School

Open access
Bus, Adriana G., Shang, Yi, Roskos, Kathleen·2024·AERA Open
DOI 10.1177/23328584241267843
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The effectiveness of incorporating independent reading practice in schools has long been a subject of uncertainty. To shed light on this ongoing debate, this meta-analysis seeks to investigate the impact of in-school independent reading on three crucial measures—attitudes toward reading, word recognition, and comprehension—focusing on K–10 students. The analysis encompasses (quasi-)experimental studies conducted between 1970 and 2020, examining a total of 7,493 students across 47 studies. Because most studies contain more than one outcome measure or effect size, we used a meta-analytic model with a three-level structure. The findings reveal a statistically significant overall effect size (Hedges’ g = .08). Specifically, the effect sizes are more pronounced when considering word recognition (i.e., word attack, word identification, decoding, and fluency; Hedges’ g = .21) and students’ reading attitude (Hedges’ g = .18) as outcome measures. However, the effect size for comprehension—the most commonly assessed outcome measure—was approximately zero (Hedges’ g = −.014).

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/23328584241267843

Cites

57 of 57 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Prior reviews of independent silent reading in native-language contexts found no or only marginal effects on reading outcomes.

    “Erbeli and Rice (2022), for instance, reviewed 14 experimental and quasi-experimental studies on the effects of Independent Silent Reading (ISR) but found no support for the presence of its effects on reading outcomes.”

    From Learning a Language Through Reading: A Meta-analysis of Studies on the Effects of Extensive Reading on Second and Foreign Language Learning (2025) · cites this paper as Bus et al. (2024)

    The Abstract reports that Erbeli and Rice’s review found many studies without statistically significant results, supporting the claim’s general point. But it also says their forest plots suggested a positive trend; it does not characterize their finding as no support for any effect. The Abstract attributes the figure of 14 studies to the National Reading Panel’s review, not to Erbeli and Rice. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 58 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 18

  1. Allen K. (2017). An evaluation study of fifth-grade independent reading and reading achievement [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Southeastern University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
  2. Borjes J. A. (2009). Repeated oral reading approach versus independent silent reading approach for reading fluency and comprehension [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of the Incarnate Word. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
  3. Cirucci C. L. (2017). The effects of shared reading and independent reading on incidental word learning of new vocabulary for third grade proficient and non-proficient readers [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Widener University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
  4. Evans H. M., Towner J. C. (1975). Sustained silent reading: Does it increase skills? The Reading Teacher, 29(2), 155–156. https://doi.org/10.2307/20193969 a [...] Evans & Towner (1975) b [...] of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (e.g., · DOI
  5. Fielding L. G., Wilson P. T., Anderson R. C. (1986). A new focus on free reading: The role of trade books in reading instruction. In Raphael T. E. (Ed.), Contexts of school-based literacy (pp. 149–160). Random House.
  6. Gambrell L. (2007). Reading: Does practice make perfect? Reading Today, 24(6), 16. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.24.6.6 · DOI
  7. Gray H. L. (2012). The effects of sustained silent reading on reading achievement and reading attitudes of fourth grade students [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. b [...] in any form of reading instruction (e.g.,
  8. Harris-Mobley I. J. (2015). Closing gaps of disadvantaged readers using drop everything and read [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Capella University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. a [...] Harris-Mobley 1 b [...] Harris-Mobley 2 c [...] Harris-Mobley 3 d [...] Harris-Mobley 4 e [...] Harris-Mobley 5 f [...] Harris-Mobley 6 g [...] Harris-Mobley 7 h [...] Harris-Mobley 8 i [...] Harris-Mobley 9 j [...] ), different grades k [...] ), various years
  9. Higgens K. J. (1981). Sustained silent reading in the fifth grade: The effects of sustained silent reading on speed, comprehension, word study skills, and vocabulary [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Brigham Young University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. a [...] Higgens (1981) b [...] ]), or something undefined (e.g.,
  10. Ibarra S. (2016). The effect of independent reading on STAAR reading scores of fourth grade students [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Northcentral University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
  11. Morgan M. S. (2013). Sustained silent reading in middle school and its impact on students’ attitudes and achievement [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Wilmington University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
  12. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2023). PISA 2022 results (Volume I): The state of learning and equity in education. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/53f23881-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/53f23881-en
  13. Osborn D. F. (2007). Developing oral reading fluency: Effects of daily use of word walls and daily independent silent reading on oral reading fluency development of second grade students [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Liberty University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
  14. Reedy J. D. (1994). Effects of a sustained silent reading program with literature response journals on third graders’ attitude, reading achievement, and writing [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Baylor University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. c [...] , covering both text composition d [...] ), different schools
  15. Siracuse L. A. (1991). The effects of a sustained silent reading program on the reading attitudes and habits of second-grade students [Unpublished master‘s thesis]. College at Brockport. http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/ehd_theses/109 a [...] Siracuse (1991) b [...] Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (e.g.,
  16. Walters-Parker K. (2006). The effects of two reading interventions on the reading motivation and reading achievement of low-performing high school readers [Unpublished PhD dissertation]. University of Kentucky. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. a [...] Walters (2006) b [...] in any form of reading instruction (e.g.,
  17. Williams N. (2010). The effects of sustained silent reading on motivation to read [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Walden University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
  18. Wilmot M. P. (1975). An investigation of the effect upon the reading performance and attitude toward reading of elementary grade students, of including in the reading program a period of sustained silent reading [Unpublished PhD dissertation]. University of Colorado. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Bus, A. G., Shang, Y., & Roskos, K.
Affiliations
  • Eötvös Loránd University (HU)
  • John Carroll University (US)
Corresponding author
Bus, Adriana G.
ORCID
Venue
AERA Open
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2024-01
Volume
10
ISSN
2332-8584 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1177/23328584241267843
OpenAlex
W4403128520
Cited by
7
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4
FWCI
5.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • AERA Open (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Social Sciences › Education › Literacy and Educational Practices
  • Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
Keywords
independent reading, reading instruction, reading attitudes, word recognition, reading comprehension, decoding, reading fluency

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review