Effects of Reading at an Instructional Level and Situational Interest on Time on Task Among Middle School Students.

This study investigated the effects of task difficulty—defined by reading accuracy levels—and situational interest on time on task (TOT) during silent reading among 122 sixth-grade students. Task difficulty was manipulated by scrambling 0% (independent level), 5% (instructional level), or 15% (frustration level) of words in passages, with the instructional level corresponding to reading 93%–97% of words correctly. Results showed that both task difficulty and situational interest significantly predicted TOT, with the instructional level condition yielding the highest TOT and situational interest accounting for the greatest variance. Additionally, the interaction between task difficulty and situational interest significantly influenced TOT, suggesting that reading materials matched to students’ skill and interests may enhance engagement. The study highlights implications for middle school reading instruction and recommends further research on strategies to increase TOT by addressing both task difficulty and situational interest.