The effect of text format upon underachieving first year college students’ self-efficacy for reading and subsequent reading comprehension

This study had two purposes. One was to investigate the effect of text format on underachieving first-year college students' self-efficacy for reading; the second was to compare self-efficacy ratings with subsequent reading comprehension. Seventy-six students in a university learning support services program at a large Northeastern university participated in this two day study. On day one, participants viewed eight versions of an approximately 250-word passage simultaneously, each with a different combination of font size, margin width, and heading, and were asked to make a judgment about their self efficacy for reading each. On day two, a few weeks later, the participants read and answered questions based on two passage formats, one that reflected their highest self-efficacy rated format and the other their lowest. A dependent samples t-test revealed that comprehension scores for the highest self-efficacy rated format were significantly higher than for the lowest self-efficacy rated format. In addition, a 2 × 2 × 2 randomized block factorial analysis indicated significant main effects for the presence of headings and the 12-point font condition, but not for margin width. We then make suggestions about how college faculty can offset students' negative self-efficacy for reading college material.