Fact · Dictation
In a 2002 Virginia Tech study, postsecondary students with learning disabilities wrote higher-quality essays, at a faster rate, with continuous speech recognition than with a keyboard.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“students with learning disabilities in the area of written expression wrote significantly higher quality essays at a faster rate using the transcription and speech recognition modes of writing than they did using the keyboarding method of writing”
The Effectiveness of Oral Expression through the use of Continuous Speech Recognition Technology in Supporting the Written Composition of Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities, Richard Conrad Snider, Virginia Tech (VTechWorks repository), 2002, Abstract.
Open the original- What it measures
- Three ways of writing were compared on the written composition of postsecondary students with learning disabilities: a human transcriber making a verbatim transcript, continuous speech recognition, and unassisted keyboarding.
- What it does not show
- Students with learning disabilities only, a 2002 thesis, and recognition software far older than today's. Quality and rate are the measures; the abstract does not give effect sizes.
Source
Cited on
- Speech to Text for Accessibility, RSI and DisabilitiesTopic
- What Is a Good Typing Speed? WPM Levels ExplainedGuide
- Speech to Text for Dyslexia and DysgraphiaGuide
- Dictation for Academics, Researchers and ThesesGuide
- Does Dictation Change How You Write?Guide
- Is dictated writing worse than typed writing?Question