The Power of Thinking About Reading: What Strategies Really Work?
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 achievement scores across different educational settings—from the United
States to OECD countries to non-OECD nations.
What
Works: The Most Effective Reading Strategies
Our
analysis revealed several standout strategies that consistently boosted reading
performance:
For
understanding and remembering text:
- Underlining important parts of
the text was
the top predictor of success across nearly all educational settings
- Summarizing text in one's own
words showed
strong positive associations with reading achievement
- Discussing content with others after reading significantly
improved comprehension
Underlining important text sections
helps readers identify and remember key information.
For
summarizing effectively:
- Checking that important facts
are represented in the summary
had the strongest positive impact on reading scores
- Underlining key sentences and
rewriting them in one's own words
consistently predicted better summarizing skills
For
evaluating credibility of information:
- Checking the sender's email
address when
receiving suspicious messages
- Verifying information through
official websites
before trusting online content
- Deleting suspicious emails
without clicking links
showed positive associations with better assessment skills
What
Doesn't Work: Strategies to Reconsider
Equally
important, we identified strategies that showed negative associations with
reading performance:
- Focusing only on
easy-to-understand parts
of text
- Quickly reading through text
twice without
deeper engagement
- Copying sentences verbatim when summarizing
- Clicking on links in
suspicious emails
to complete forms
These
approaches, while perhaps intuitive to some students, were consistently linked
to lower reading scores across educational contexts.
The
Connection Between Strategy Use and Reading Achievement
One of our
most significant findings was the consistent relationship between metacognitive
skills and overall reading achievement. Students who excelled at understanding,
summarizing, and evaluating credibility also performed better on reading
assessments.
This
relationship was remarkably consistent across different educational settings,
suggesting that metacognitive strategies have universal relevance despite
cultural and educational differences.
What
This Means for Students, Parents and Educators
Our
research has several practical implications:
For
students:
- Actively engage with text by
underlining key points and summarizing in your own words
- Discuss what you read with
others to deepen understanding
- Develop skepticism about
online information by verifying sources
For
parents:
- Encourage your children to
talk about what they've read
- Ask questions that prompt them
to summarize information in their own words
- Model critical evaluation of
information, especially online content
For
educators:
- Explicitly teach metacognitive
strategies, particularly those with proven benefits
- Design activities that require
students to identify important information and restate it
- Create opportunities for
discussion and collaborative meaning-making
- Adapt strategy instruction to
meet the needs of different students and contexts
A
Global Perspective
Interestingly,
while our analysis showed some variation in strategy effectiveness across
different educational settings, the most powerful strategies remained
remarkably consistent. This suggests that certain fundamental approaches to
reading transcend cultural and educational differences.
However,
we did find nuanced variations that highlight the importance of
context-specific approaches alongside universal strategies. Educational systems
may benefit from combining broadly effective strategies with targeted
approaches that address specific cultural and pedagogical contexts.
Looking
Forward
As digital
reading environments continue to evolve, metacognitive strategies become
increasingly important. The ability to evaluate credibility, for instance, is
critical in an era of misinformation and information overload.
Our
findings underscore the value of explicitly teaching these strategies to help
students navigate increasingly complex reading demands. By focusing on the most
effective approaches, we can help more students develop the reading skills
necessary for success in education and beyond.
The power
of metacognition—thinking about our thinking—may be the key to unlocking
reading potential for students worldwide.
Citation:
Ghimire, N., & Mokhtari, K. (2025). Evaluating
the predictive power of metacognitive reading strategies across diverse
educational contexts. Large-scale Assessment in Education, 13(4).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-025-00240-3
Pull
Quotes
"The
most effective readers don't just read—they actively engage with text by
underlining key information, summarizing in their own words, and discussing
content with others."
"Not
all metacognitive strategies are equally effective. Our research identified
specific approaches that consistently predict better reading outcomes across
diverse educational settings."
"Metacognitive skills show a remarkably consistent relationship with reading achievement across different countries and educational systems, suggesting their universal importance in reading development."
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