The program is free for schools until summer 2025, says the Ministry of Education
DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Education announced last week that some elementary schools will use an artificial intelligence reading assistant to assist with reading and writing tutoring programs.
The department invested $3 million in Amira (EPS Learning) to use a program called EPS Reading Assistant, an online reading and writing coach that uses AI technology. According to the department’s press release, public and nonpublic elementary schools in Iowa can use the service for free through the summer of 2025.
“Reading unlocks potential throughout a lifetime, and the department’s new investment in statewide, personalized reading instruction furthers our shared commitment to strengthening early reading instruction,” Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a statement. “This work builds on our comprehensive progress in early reading instruction and includes world-class state content standards, statewide professional development for educators, evidence-based summer reading programs, and personalized reading plans for students who need support.”
The program uses speech recognition technology to track a child’s reading aloud and provides corrective feedback and assessments if the child is having difficulty with a digital avatar named Amira. According to the service’s website, the program is based on the “Science of Reading” approach to literary education – a method that emphasizes teaching phonics and word comprehension to students as they learn to read.
Governor Kim Reynolds and state education experts, including staff at the Iowa Reading Research Center, believe this teaching strategy will help improve the literacy rates of the state’s children, citing reading proficiency gains in states like Mississippi following the implementation of “science of reading” methods.
In May, Reynolds signed legislation that established new reading proficiency standards for teachers and requirements for how schools and families deal with students who do not meet reading proficiency standards. Those requirements include creating an individualized plan for the child until he or she reaches grade-level reading proficiency and notifying parents and guardians of children in kindergarten through sixth grade that they can request that their child repeat a grade if he or she does not meet reading proficiency standards.
Reynolds said the law is designed to “make literacy a priority in every classroom and for every student in Iowa.”
The AI-powered tutoring program is funded by the state Department of Education’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, part of a pandemic response that provides additional funding to states. The federal fund allocated more than $774 million to Iowa in 2021.
In addition to the new AI-powered programs, the fund’s funds will also be used for summer reading grants awarded to 41 elementary schools in 29 districts for their efforts to eliminate summer learning deficits and close achievement gaps. The elementary schools that received grants have all “reaffirmed their commitment to including the in-person reading tutor as part of their evidence-based programs,” the press release said.
This article first appeared in Iowa Capital Shipping.
