Data-Driven Education Insights

Read the full article here Have you ever wondered why some teenagers seem to fly through reading assignments while others struggle? The answer may lie not just in what they read, but in how they think about their reading. In our recent research published in Large-scale Assessments in Education , we examined how specific reading strategies affect reading performance among 15-year-olds worldwide. Using data from over 612,000 students across 79 countries who participated in the 2018 PISA assessment, we found some fascinating patterns that could change how we approach reading instruction. Not All Reading Strategies Are Created Equal Our brains process text in complex ways, and becoming aware of these processes—what researchers call "metacognition"—can dramatically improve reading comprehension. But here's the catch: not all metacognitive strategies yield the same benefits. We found that specific strategies consistently predicted better reading skills and higher achievemen...

  Read the full article here When it comes to understanding why some teenagers excel at reading while others struggle, the answer isn't simple. In our recent study published in Reading Psychology , we found that reading success depends on a complex web of factors spanning students, teachers, technology use, and school environments. The Digital Balancing Act Think about the technology in your home. Computers, tablets, smartphones – these tools have transformed how teens access and process information. Our research revealed something fascinating: having a computer at home was associated with higher reading scores (about 36 points higher) , and students who had internet access and actually used it scored nearly 39 points higher than those without access. But here's the catch – there's such a thing as too much technology. When we looked at households with an abundance of devices (more than 9), we found that reading scores actually began to decline. This suggests that while dig...