To pay for the AI tutor, which is called the EPS Reading Assistant, the department said this week it invested $3 million from its final round of federal pandemic relief funds. School districts can request access to the tool for their elementary schools through summer 2025 with no additional funding required, the agency said.
The statewide rollout of the EPS Reading Assistant builds on a prior reading program that incorporated the AI tutor at more than 40 elementary schools this summer, per the department. The goal of expanding access to the EPS Reading Assistant is to provide more support for student literacy, according to McKenzie Snow, department director.
“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,” Snow said in a public statement.
The EPS Reading Assistant is based on decades of research at Carnegie Mellon University. A technology transfer around 2018 allowed a company called Amira Learning to further develop the tool for use in classrooms around the world, according to Amira Chief Impact Officer Joe Siedlecki. EPS Learning partnered with Amira in March to launch the EPS Reading Assistant.
“Grounded in the science of reading, EPS Reading Assistant uses voice recognition technology, delivering in-the-moment tutoring, including corrective feedback and support to build essential reading skills,” the department said in the news release. “As students read aloud, a digital avatar named Amira listens, assesses and intervenes when a student struggles.”
In addition to tutoring students, the EPS Reading Assistant provides educators with literacy data on the strengths and deficits detected during each reading session, so they can tailor their teaching to specific student needs, according to the EPS Learning website.
The EPS Reading Assistant, and training on how to use it, is available here for Iowa elementary schools.
