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.