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arXiv · 2610.28840

KIRA: A Full-Stack Reading Screening System with Dual-Pathway Analysis for Children

Maggie Dong·Rohit Mekkoth·Zixuan Wang·Cheol Jun Cho·Jiachen Lian·Gopala Anumanchipalli
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Abstract

Early-grade reading screening is critical for identifying children at risk of reading difficulty. Existing AI-based screeners are often limited in the scope of their analyses and evaluation metrics, or are proprietary systems that lack transparent model specifications and evaluation. We present KIRA, a dual-pathway screening system that pairs word-level fluency scoring with detailed phoneme-level error detection. We adapt pretrained word and phoneme recognizers to children's speech, reducing word error rate from 13.88% to 8.84% and phoneme error rate from 41.66% to 23.00%. Powered by these child-adapted models, we implement Word Reading (WRE) and Oral Reading Fluency (ORF), two foundational tasks in K-2 screening. The system integrates these recognizers with a web-based teacher-facing interface presenting fluency scores alongside phoneme feedback for potential targeted intervention. KIRA brings modern child-speech recognition into a full-stack, deployable, classroom-ready reading screener.

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Maggie Dong, Rohit Mekkoth, Zixuan Wang, Cheol Jun Cho, Jiachen Lian, Gopala Anumanchipalli. 2026-10-20. KIRA: A Full-Stack Reading Screening System with Dual-Pathway Analysis for Children. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28840

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