There’s an ongoing debate about what is better for retention: reading on paper or screens. While most studies focused on computer screens, tablets and other handheld devices have become customary in many schools. Maybe the results could be different? Well, these two combined meta-analyses by Salmerón et al, published in the Journal of Educational Psychology says no, although the difference is not that big:

Handheld devices, such as tablets, are widely used in schools as reading devices. Our synthesis of existing studies indicates that readers comprehend slightly better when they read a text in print as opposed to on a handheld device. In-print reading can be considered as an efficient way to promote students’ text comprehension.

Abstract of the meta-analyses:

As handheld devices, such as tablets, become a common tool in schools, a critical and urgent question for the research community is to assess their potential impact on educational outcomes. Previous meta-analytic research has evidenced the “screen inferiority effect”: Readers tend to understand texts slightly worse when reading on-screen than when reading the same text in print. Most primary studies from those meta-analyses used computers as on-screen reading devices. Accordingly, the extent to which handheld devices, which provide a reading experience closer to books than computers, are affected by the screen inferiority effect remains an open question. To address this issue, we reviewed relevant literature regarding potential moderating factors for the screen inferiority effect through the lenses of the reading for understanding framework. We then performed two meta-analyses aimed at examining the differences in reading comprehension when reading on handheld devices, as compared to print. Results from the two multilevel random-effect meta-analyses, which included primary studies that used either between-participant (k = 38, g = −0.113) or within-participant (k = 21, g = −0.103) designs, consistently showed a significant small size effect favoring print text comprehension. Moderator analyses helped to partially clarify the results, indicating in some cases a higher screen inferiority effect for undergraduate students (as compared to primary and secondary school students) and for participants who were assessed individually (as opposed to in groups). We discuss the need to continue fostering print reading in schools while developing effective ways to incorporate handheld devices for reading purposes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)