Does Use of Text-to-Speech and Related Read-Aloud Tools Improve Reading Comprehension for Students With Reading Disabilities? A Meta-Analysis

• Published in: Journal of learning disabilities Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 73 - 84
• Main Authors: Wood, Sarah G., Moxley, Jerad H., Tighe, Elizabeth L., Wagner, Richard K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2018; SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Assistive Technology; Audiovisual Aids; Child; Comprehension; Confidence intervals; Dyslexia - therapy; Effect Size; Humans; Influence of Technology; Learning disabilities; Meta Analysis; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Random effects; Reading; Reading Comprehension; Reading Difficulties; Reading disabilities; Reading Improvement; Reading Research; Software; Special education; Speech; Students; Students with disabilities; Systematic review; Technology; text-to-speech; meta-analysis; reading disabilities; technology; reading comprehension
• ISSN: 0022-2194; 1538-4780; 1538-4780
• DOI: 10.1177/0022219416688170

Text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools are being widely implemented in an attempt to assist students’ reading comprehension skills. Read-aloud software, including text-to-speech, is used to translate written text into spoken text, enabling one to listen to written text while reading along. It is not clear how effective text-to-speech is at improving reading comprehension. This study addresses this gap in the research by conducting a meta-analysis on the effects of text-to-speech technology and related read-aloud tools on reading comprehension for students with reading difficulties. Random effects models yielded an average weighted effect size of ( d ¯ = .35, with a 95% confidence interval of .14 to .56, p < .01). Moderator effects of study design were found to explain some of the variance. Taken together, this suggests that text-to-speech technologies may assist students with reading comprehension. However, more studies are needed to further explore the moderating variables of text-to-speech and read-aloud tools’ effectiveness for improving reading comprehension. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.