The Impact of Text-to-Speech on Reading Comprehension of Students with Learning Disabilities in an Urban School

An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was used to explore the effects of a text-to-speech (TTS) program (Read & Write Gold 11) on reading comprehension scores for two fourth-grade students with learning disabilities in an urban school. For each session, students used the TTS program to read a fourth-grade-level comprehension passage. The number of correct comprehension questions was measured. All participants' scores increased when the TTS program was introduced. Additionally, a Likert scale questionnaire was used to assess the participants' perception of the TTS program. Results showed that the participants found the TTS program easy to use with little or no support. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed in this paper.