The effects of text length on reading abilities in accelerated reading tasks

Background: Accelerating the rate at which text is presented has been associated with immediate improvements in reading accuracy and comprehension although the long-term effects remain inconclusive. However, no studies have investigated the efficacy of accelerated reading when text lengths extend beyond short passages. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of text length on the oral reading proficiency of high school students in accelerated reading tasks. Methods: Participants included 42 high-school students. All participants completed four experimental oral reading comprehension tasks during which the text presentation rate and the length of the texts were varied. Measures of word reading accuracy and comprehension were obtained. Results: Reading longer passages during accelerated conditions resulted in the highest comprehension accuracy scores, indicating that reading acceleration is most beneficial when used during relatively longer passages. Conclusions: Mounting evidence indicates that reading acceleration is a viable option to improve the short-term reading comprehension of individuals with various reading abilities during reading tasks of various lengths.