Quick feedback while reading helped adults get more into what they read
HelpedThe short version
Adults who got quick feedback and hints as they read said they got more into it than those with none.
- 500
- adults recruited online who read English well
- Randomised
- groups picked at random
- Self-rated
- people rated themselves
- 2 tools
- tested
The study
Who took part
500 adults from several world regions who read English well signed up online. 462 of them were counted at the end, 231 in each group.
What they did
Both groups read the same three nonfiction texts on a reading website, each taking about 35 minutes. One group got instant feedback from the computer. Its questions got easier or harder to match how they did, and its hints aimed at their mistakes. The other group read the texts with no feedback.
What happened
The feedback group rated reading as more engaging right after the last text and again four weeks later. The paper says reading also felt more enjoyable and freeing, but it prints no comparison between groups for those. Parts of the paper are garbled. Many of its numbers don't add up, so we can't trust the size of the difference.
What the study found
- Helped
Adults who got quick feedback and hints as they read said they got more into it than those with none.
Randomised trial of 500 adults recruited online who read English well · vs the same texts with no feedback · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable; summary claims more than the results show; results look too good to be true
How solid is this?
- Groups picked at random
- People rated themselves
- Numbers unreliable
- Summary claims more than the results show
- Results look too good to be true
Source
From Anxiety to Autonomy: Examining Automated Feedback Systems Shape Reading Motivation and Emotional Engagement Worldwide (2025)
