Digital Tools for Reading Success: Meta-analyses of Digital Interventions

Abstract This meta-analytic work, conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, evaluates the efficacy of digital interventions in improving reading outcomes in children under 15 years of age. We included 41 studies ( k = 194) focused on poor readers and 15 studies ( k = 69) on general school readers, all employing randomized controlled or quasi-experimental designs published between 2000 and 2022. Multilevel meta-analyses with robust variance estimation, conducted using the open-access tool ShinyApp, revealed a medium effect for poor readers ( g = 0.433, CI = 0.3, 0.56, p < .001), corresponding to substantial literacy gains, and a smaller effect for general readers ( g = 0.256, CI = 0.08, 0.43, p = .009) reflecting more modest progress. Notably, interventions targeting reading-specific skills, such as decoding and comprehension, were effective across both groups, whereas those focused on domain-general cognitive skills, such as attention and working memory, benefited only poor readers. Results varied slightly by orthographic transparency, with numerically stronger effects in languages with simpler syllabic structures. No significant differences emerged between decoding and comprehension outcomes. These findings highlight the potential of tailored digital interventions to enhance reading—especially for children facing literacy challenges— while underscoring the need to adapt them to diverse learner and contextual characteristics to ensure scalability and cross-linguistic applicability.