The Effect of Choice on

Reading Comprehension
By Jessica Marter
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Why this topic?
A boy I worked with at my field
experience told me he
“hated reading”
This was due to a lack of
motivation to read.
But when he was given choices
in reading,
his motivation
. increased.
But what about Comprehension?
◦ There is extensive research on the correlation between motivation and choice
(Evans & Boucher, 2015) and motivation and comprehension (Kusdemir &
Bulut, 2018) but a lack of research on the effects of choice on comprehension.
◦ Which led me to my action research question…
 What effect does student choice have on
comprehension in elementary-age students?
Review of Literature
◦ Optimizing the Power of Choice: Supporting Student Autonomy to Foster Motivation and
Engagement in Learning.
◦ (Evans & Boucher, 2015)

• The Effects of Choice on Reading Engagement and Comprehension for Second- and Third-grade
Students: An Action Research Report
• (Fraumeni-McBride, 2017)

• The Relationship Between Elementary School Students’ Reading Comprehension and Reading
Motivation.
• (Kusdemir & Bulut, 2018)
More Reviews of Literature
◦ Choice Matters: Equity and Literacy Achievement
◦ (McClung et al. 2019)

• Constructing Motivation Through Choice, Interest, and Interestingness

• (Patall, 2013)

• Concurrent and Predictive Validity of Reading Retell as a Brief Measure of Reading

Comprehension for Narrative Text
• (Shapiro, Fritschmann, Thomas, Hughes & McDougal, 2014)
Methodology
• 7 Participants: 4 female, 2 male
• Second Grade

• Read two books

• First: without choice
• Second: with choice
• Students select between three books

• After reading each book students perform a retell

• Retells graded using a reading retell rubric from Reutzel and Cooter (2019).
 Book without
Choice

 First assessment

 Read in its entirety

 Retell after reading

Student Choice Books
 The Reader November 15

Reading Rubric I

(Reutzel & Cooter, 2019) IIII

8
 Comprehension Scores
16

14

12

10

0
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Student 6 Student 7

Score for No Choice Score for Choice

Scoring statistics Average score of students
without choice:
Effects of Choice
6.4
Average score of students
with choice:
29%

71%
9.5
3.1 Difference!
Increased score No change in score
Recommendations
◦ For the field:
◦ My study showed that choice
positively effects comprehension
◦ Assessment and observation evidence
◦ Limitations:
◦ Small sample
◦ Many variables not accounted for
◦ Weakness of rubric
◦ Testing location
◦ For future research:
◦ Broader participant samples
◦ Research impact of student interest
◦ More variety in books and assessments
◦ Conclusion:
◦ Choice has an effect on comprehension
and teachers should use this to the
advantage of their students so every
student can become a lover of reading!
References
◦ Castillo, L. (2014). Nana in the city. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

◦ Evans, M., & Boucher, A. R. (2015). Optimizing the power of choice: Supporting student autonomy to foster motivation and engagement in learning. Mind,
Brain, and Education, 9(2), 87-91.

◦ Fraumeni-McBride, J. P. (2017). The effects of choice on reading engagement and comprehension for second- and third-grade students: An action research
report. Journal of Montessori Research, 3(2), 19-38.

◦ Hest, A. (2012). The reader. New York, NY: Amazon Children’s Publishing.

◦ Klassen, J. (2011). I want my hat back. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

◦ Kusdemir, Y., & Bulut, P. (2018). The relationship between elementary school students’ reading comprehension and reading motivation. Journal of Education
and Training Studies, 6(12), 97-110.

◦ McClung, N. A., Barry, E., Neebe, D., Mere-Cook, Y., Wang, Q., & Gonzalez-Balsam, M. (2019). Choice matters: Equity and literacy achievement. Berkeley
Review of Education, 8(2), 147-78.

◦ Patall, E. A. (2013). Constructing motivation through choice, interest, and interestingness. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2), 522-534.

◦ Reutzel, R., & Cooter, R. B. (2019). Teaching children to read: The teacher makes the difference. (8th ed.) New York, NY: Pearson.

◦ Santat, D. (2014). The adventures of beekle: The unimaginary friend. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.

◦ Shapiro, E. S., Fritschmann, N. S., Thomas, L. B., Hughes, C. L., & McDougal, J. (2014). Concurrent and predictive validity of reading retell as a brief measure
of reading comprehension for narrative text. Reading Psychology, 35(7), 644-665.