Identifying the factor structure of online reading to learn is important for the development of theory, assessment, and instruction. Traditional comprehension models have been developed from, and for, offline reading. This study used online reading to determine an optimal factor structure for modeling online research and comprehension among 426 sixth graders (ages 12 and 13). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to evaluate an assessment of online research and comprehension based on a widely referenced theoretical model. Student performance reflected the theoretical constructs of the model, but several additional constructs appeared, resulting in a six-factor model: (a) locating information with a search engine, (b) questioning credibility of information, (c) confirming credibility of information, (d) identifying main ideas from a single online resource, (e) synthesizing information across multiple online resources, and (f) communicating a justified, source-based position. The findings are discussed in terms of theory, assessment, and instruction.

The present study evaluated the extent to which literacy skills (reading fluency, written spelling, and reading comprehension), together with nonverbal reasoning, prior knowledge, and gender, are related to students' online research and comprehension (ORC) performance. The ORC skills of 426 sixth graders were measured using a Finnish adaptation of the Online Research and Comprehension Assessment. Results of a structural equation model showed that these ORC skills were divided into six highly correlated factors, and that they formed a common factor in ORC. Altogether, these predictor variables explained 57% of the variance in ORC. Reading comprehension, along with gender, was the strongest predictor for ORC performance. In addition, reading fluency and written spelling explained ORC variance over and above reading comprehension. These findings suggest that struggling readers probably face difficulties online.

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Regardless of the medium, reading is a complex skill involving the execution and coordination of many cognitive processes. Reading comprehension in skilled readers is the end-product of processes that are fast, efficient, interactive and strategic. These processes, some of which may be described as lower level (e.g. word recognition) and some as higher level (e.g. inference-making), rely on aspects of executive function including attention, working memory, executive control and metacognition. This chapter examines the involvement of these four aspects in both print and digital reading. We explore how on-screen reading of linear and non-linear text (hypertext) makes additional demands on executive function, potentially threatening comprehension and learning. We also consider how technology may confer processing advantages for readers with particular difficulties. Recommendations aimed at preventing shallow processing when engaging with digital text are presented. Having reviewed the literature, we speculate on how the potential of technology may be harnessed in order to encourage reading, to improve assessment, and to increase knowledge.

This study identified online research and comprehension (ORC) performance profiles of 436 sixth‐grade students (206 girls) aged 12–13 years. We included learner groups with different learning‐related difficulties and explored how students’ reading habits were represented in various performance profiles. First, students’ ORC performance was examined with a validated web‐based assessment measuring their skills in locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating information. Second, reading fluency and teacher‐rated attention and executive function (EF) difficulty scores were used to form learner groups: (1) students with reading difficulties, (2) students with attention and EF difficulties, (3) students with comorbid difficulties in reading as well as attention and EF, and (4) students without these identified difficulties. Third, students’ reading habits were assessed with a questionnaire asking how often they read different kinds of texts. Seven ORC performance profiles were identified. Most of the profiles related to the students’ ORC performance level, except the profile of the average performers with low questioning credibility scores. Students with learning‐related difficulties were more likely to belong to the lower performance profiles, and all top performers were students without identified difficulties. However, 25.7% of students with reading difficulties and 16.2% of students with attention and EF difficulties performed at average or good levels of ORC. Finally, the frequency of reading longer texts, such as books and blog posts, was more clearly associated with students’ online reading performance than reading shorter texts, such as comics and online forum posts.