Iowa turns to AI for reading program

(The Center Square) - Iowa elementary schools will use an AI reading assistant with voice recognition technology to assess and assist students in their reading skills, the Department of Education said Wednesday.

The DOE is using $3 million from the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief APR ESSER Fund toward the online literacy tutor program. The money is also going toward Summer Reading Grants for schools to address summer learning loss.

The reading tutor program, called Amira (EPS Learning), is an AI-driven interactive avatar that listens to students read out loud and instantly assesses and reports, according to the program’s website.

The program is being provided to all public and private elementary schools through the summer of 2025, according to the DOE.

The goal is to provide in-the-moment tutoring to build essential reading skills, the department said.

“Reading unlocks a lifetime of potential, and the Department’s new investment in statewide personalized reading tutoring further advances our shared commitment to strengthening early literacy instruction,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow. “This work builds upon our comprehensive advancements in early literacy, spanning world-class state content standards, statewide educator professional learning, evidence-based summer reading programs, and Personalized Reading Plans for students in need of support.”

The Amira program includes help with phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, vocabulary and comprehension.

EPS Learning, the company that provides the program, said on its website that Amira helps empower teachers by receiving “key data points” on their students' reading skill progress with comprehensive reading assessments. The assessments include universal screening, dyslexia identification, placement, and more.

However, the company says its AI reading assistant is not the same as the AI that fuels ChatGPT and does not rely on training from internet content. Additionally, it does not use AI to create its own responses to a student, the company said.

“As technology develops and evolves, it is important to be cautious and thoughtful. This includes use of programs that draw on some form of artificial intelligence (AI),” the company said.

Another portion of the $3 million APR ESSER money funded 41 Summer Reading Grants to elementary schools in 29 districts across the state, which the department said will be spent to advance student achievement and close achievement gaps.

While all public elementary schools were eligible to apply for the grants, “significant priority” was awarded to schools that committed to using the AI literacy program, according to the department. All the grant awardees confirmed they would utilize the program.