A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on technology-based interventions for elementary students with reading difficulties

Technology-based reading interventions have been widely adopted to support elementary students with reading difficulties; however, empirical findings regarding their effectiveness and the instructional conditions under which they are most effective remain inconsistent. This meta-analysis synthesized evidence from 30 randomized controlled trials published between 2010 and 2025, representing 39 experimental contrasts, 160 effect sizes, and 4851 participants, all of whom were students with reading difficulties across both intervention and control groups. A multilevel meta-analytic approach was employed to account for statistical dependence among effect sizes within studies. Moderator analyses examined whether intervention effects differed according to targeted reading skill, grade level, instructional setting, participant identification status, and intervention duration. Results indicated a statistically significant overall effect of technology-based reading interventions (g = 0.35, 95% CI [0.23, 0.48], p < .001), corresponding to a small-to-moderate improvement in reading outcomes. None of the examined moderators significantly explained variability in effect sizes. These findings provide experimental evidence supporting the effectiveness of technology-based reading interventions for elementary students with reading difficulties and suggest that intervention effects are robust across instructional and learner characteristics.