May 15, 2024 – Today’s children are struggling to learn how to read. A nationwide teacher shortage has left a staggering 55,000 K-12 classrooms without certified educators*, leaving too many teachers overwhelmed and under-resourced. Meanwhile, 69 percent of 8th graders read below grade level.** Students, families, teachers, and districts need an accessible and immediate solution to the literacy crisis and Amira Learning (Amira), the first AI-powered reading assistant, has already helped millions of students with reading fluency. Today, they take it to the next level with Amira 2.0, expanding Amira's impact-proven, expert-backed reading AI tutor to include reading comprehension. 

Developed by a seasoned team of experts from Pearson, IBM, ACT, and Renaissance, and grounded in two decades of research at Carnegie Mellon University, this enhanced version of Amira Learning’s AI reading tutor employs a sophisticated Large Language Model (LLM) to interact live with students. Just like a human teacher, Amira 2.0 engages in dialogue, probes students’ comprehension, and tailors questions to enhance a student’s understanding and fluency. Understanding is essential: children who struggle with reading comprehension in the third or fourth grade are at high risk for dropping out of school, with detrimental effects on their future employment, income, and participation in the social and political aspects of life.*** 

Particularly beneficial for English Language Learners (ELL) students, students experiencing poverty, and those with learning disabilities, Amira 2.0 was created to help fill the teaching and literacy gaps that exist today, and ultimately, set children up for success. 

“Since founding Amira five years ago, we’ve helped students across the country become far more fluent readers by reading out loud with their own tutor,” said Mark Angel, Founder & CEO of Amira Learning. “However, we know that gaps beyond fluency exist; students need to be able to understand what they read, communicate their ideas, and show comprehension. The new Amira addresses this need, and steps in to assist when teachers are so low on time.” 

In just five years, Amira has already made an impressive impact on children’s reading literacy. A recent independent study commissioned by the State of Utah’s Department of Education showed that students reading with Amira just 30 minutes per week had an impact of 1.5 years of growth in just one school year.****

“To learn, children need to be able to show their understanding through verbal and written communication, and with the support of a coach who can really listen,” said Dr. Nell K. Duke, Executive Director of Stand for Children’s Center of Early Literacy Success and Amira Learning’s Principal Research Advisor. "Amira’s new groundbreaking technology hits on all of these points. This is the next frontier in literacy growth, and only Amira can provide it.”

“I am most excited for Amira to start having comprehension conversations with students,” said Christine Cyporyn, a teacher in Waterford, Michigan. “This level of support for students is going to be a game changer in accelerating and deepening their reading skills.”

How it Works - and What's New:

• Reading Fluency: The AI-powered tutor, “Amira,” listens to children read out loud and offers in-the-moment personalized micro-interventions based on Science of Reading frameworks - jumping in with mini lessons if a student makes a mistake in oral reading. 
• New with 2.0 - Reading Comprehension: When students slow their reading, change inflection, or begin reading a new topic, Amira pops in with scaffolded comprehension questions to ensure understanding.  She listens and analyzes a student’s response and then asks them to elaborate, review the text, or consider a different perspective. 
• Reporting to Educators: Amira continuously collects and updates data to inform educators, administrators, and families of students’ progress with detailed reports and a recorded transcript of the child’s reading. 
• New with 2.0 - Reports on Comprehension: Now reports include the level of understanding and provide a transcript and tools of the answer. 

Amira is used by more than 2 million students in 900 districts and 15 countries across the globe. Students who engage with Amira for just 10 minutes a day experience reading growth at a rate of 2x the national average. With the 2023-24 school year nearing completion and students heading home for the summer, Amira’s affordable solution can help mitigate summer learning loss and help welcome teachers back in the fall with the resources they need to meet their students wherever they are on their literacy journey, from learning English to requiring intervention to catch up. 

“I love the comprehension conversation opportunities for students,” said Stephanie Castro, a teacher in Waukesha, Wisconsin. “As an upper elementary teacher, we always want more comprehension skills in Amira and this is an awesome addition for us to get more data on this.”

*National Center for Education Statistics and teacher shortage research reflecting the most recently available vacancy data as reported by news outlets, on state education department websites and in other documentation

**Uncovering The Logic of English by Denise Eide

***  Regional Education Laboratory An exploration of instructional practices that foster language development and comprehension: Evidence from prekindergarten through Grade 3 in Title I schools (NCEE 2017-4024). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Science, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. https://eric.ed.gov/

****Utah’s Early Interactive Reading Software Program Report, conducted by the Utah State Board of Education (2022-2023)