Paper Books Improve Comprehension — and Why That Matters for Student Literacy

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SEO Title: Paper Books Improve Student Comprehension — Here’s Why It Matters

Meta Description: A new study finds that reading physical books improves comprehension up to 8x compared to digital reading. Here’s why that’s important for literacy programs like The Dictionary Project.

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A growing body of research confirms what many educators have long known: reading paper books significantly improves comprehension, especially in young students. That’s why programs like The Dictionary Project — which provides physical dictionaries to third graders — are more vital than ever.

A 2023 study by the University of Valencia found that students who read paper books had 6 to 8 times better comprehension than those reading on digital devices. Over 450,000 participants contributed to the research, offering compelling evidence that physical books play a critical role in literacy and learning outcomes.

“If a student spends 10 hours reading books on paper, their comprehension will probably be 6 to 8 times greater than if they read on digital devices for the same amount of time,” said researchers Cristina Vargas and Ladislao Salmerón.

Similarly, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that teens who most often read paper books scored 50 points higher on international reading tests than non-readers—equivalent to 2.5 years of learning, regardless of socioeconomic status.

So, why are paper books so effective?

Three Reasons Paper Books Beat Screens for Learning

1. Better focus in limited time
Paper books help students stay on task in time-limited settings. They remove digital distractions, reduce cognitive overload, and allow for hands-on note-taking — all of which boost memory and comprehension.

2. Fewer distractions mean deeper reading
A Harvard Business Review study found that people switch between apps and tabs 1,200 times per day, losing nearly four hours daily to context switching. Paper books eliminate that, enabling students to immerse themselves in the text.

3. Easier digestion of informational texts
Paper books allow students to touch pages, use bookmarks, and physically flip through sections. This tactile experience builds stronger mental maps of content, especially with nonfiction or reference materials — like dictionaries.

Educational psychologist Ernst Rothkopf once noted that people often recall where a word or passage was located in a book — an experience that’s hard to replicate on digital screens.

At The Dictionary Project, these findings reinforce the importance of our mission. Every year, thousands of third-grade students receive a personal dictionary, giving them a hands-on tool to build vocabulary and reading skills that stick.

📖 Want to support our mission? Visit The Dictionary Project and help us put a dictionary in every child’s hands — one school at a time.