I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time in classrooms—working alongside teachers, leaders, and students—and one conversation keeps coming up, especially in middle schools:
When should students read digitally, and when should they read on paper?
Teachers ask it during teacher team meetings.
Leaders ask it when we’re debriefing after walkthroughs.
We look at student work together and notice patterns: some students stay grounded and focused with a printed text, while others engage more deeply with digital reading.
Every school is wrestling with the same challenge:
How do we help students become confident readers in both formats, and how do we make those choices intentionally?
Recently, I came across a meta-analysis reviewing 37 experimental studies (2000–2022) comparing digital and print reading comprehension. I was hopeful this could help schools move from preference-based decisions to evidence-based decisions. But research articles are long, dense, and not written for educators with full plates. So, I created a one-page, educator-friendly summary with actionable guiding questions for teacher teams.
This blog pulls everything together and offers a clear path for turning this research into meaningful Tier 1 decisions across classrooms and content areas.
What the Meta-Analysis Found
The biggest surprise for many educators is this:
There is no overall difference in comprehension between digital and print across all studies.
The medium itself is not the determining factor.
The conditions are.
Here are the broad patterns:
- Print supports deeper comprehension when texts are long, informational, or read under time pressure.
- Digital reading can support comprehension when strategy routines or interactive features are present.
- Text type matters. Task type matters. Time constraints matter.
The message is simple and can determine teacher moves:
It’s not digital versus print. It’s digital when… and print when…
The full one-page summary breaks these distinctions down clearly for teachers and leaders.
Why This Matters for Tier 1 Instruction—Especially in Middle Schools
In the real world, we all move between digital and print reading depending on what we’re doing. Students should learn how to do the same.
But in middle school, the way students experience this shift can feel confusing and inconsistent.
A student might read an article digitally in science because the curriculum is online, walk into social studies and receive a printed source document, and then go to English where the text is read aloud—meaning students aren’t actually reading as much as we think.
None of this is inherently wrong.
The challenge is the lack of intentionality and clarity.
Students benefit when teachers explicitly think through and explain:
- Why this text is digital
- Why this text is printed
- How the medium supports comprehension
- When students need strategy routines for digital reading
- When students need the focus and grounding of print
- When teacher read-alouds are helpful—and when students need to read themselves
When teachers name their choices, students begin to understand how they learn best in different formats. They build the metacognitive muscles they will need long after they have left our classrooms.
Strong Tier 1 instruction does not require every teacher to make the same choice.
It requires every teacher to make purposeful, student-centered choices.
Turning Research into Practice: Teacher Teams Discuss, Plan, Teach, and Assess
The power of this research becomes real when teacher teams use it alongside their knowledge of students. A simple four-step cycle keeps the work doable and grounded in classroom realities.
- Teachers Discuss
Teams begin with the summary and connect the findings to what they know about their students:
- Where do our students lose focus when reading digitally?
- Which text types challenge them most?
- Do our students have digital reading strategies?
- When do they benefit from print?
- Are we defaulting to digital simply because the curriculum is online?
- Are students getting enough opportunities to actually read, not just listen?
Discussion blends research with real classroom evidence and teacher experience.
- Teachers Plan
Teams look at an upcoming unit and make intentional choices:
- Which texts will be read digitally
- Which texts will be printed
- Why those choices support comprehension
- Whether students need new strategy routines
The goal is coherence and clarity for teachers and students—not uniformity.
- Teachers Teach
Teachers implement the plan:
- Students read the texts using the chosen medium
- Teachers model and reinforce strategy routines
- Students reflect on how the medium affected their understanding
Students can also be asked:
Which format helped you concentrate? Why?
This supports metacognition and engagement.
- Teachers Assess
Teams review:
- Student work
- Exit tickets
- Written responses
- Discussion quality
- Assessment data
They ask: Did the medium support comprehension? What should we adjust next?
Repeating this cycle strengthens Tier 1 instruction over time and puts complex text at the center of every classroom.
Resources to Support Your Team
To make this work simple and actionable, you can access:
- The One-Page Summary
Clear, concise findings for busy educators. - The Full Meta-Analysis
For teams or leaders who want deeper research. - 30 Minute Discussion and Planning Guide for Teacher Teams
Designed for PLCs and instructional planning.
These resources help teams move from conversation to clarity to action.
Partnering to Strengthen Instruction Across All Tiers
If your school or district is ready to deepen MTSS practices in reading, writing, and math—and make thoughtful, research-informed decisions around digital and print reading—STRIVE would be honored to partner with you.
Visit www.strivetlc.com to download resources or join our email list at the bottom of the homepage.
If you’d like support facilitating this conversation or designing a building-wide plan:
Contact: debbie@strivetlc.com
Together, we can create intentional, research-aligned systems that help students become confident, capable readers in every format they encounter.
We must take care of the teachers, leaders, and coaches that take care of our children
-Debbie
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