Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has introduced a mobile application, TARA (Teacher’s Assistant for Reading Assessment), designed to evaluate and improve oral reading fluency (ORF) in students. This innovative app leverages speech processing and machine learning to provide precise and automated assessments of reading skills.

According to Professor Preeti Rao from IIT Bombay’s Department of Electrical Engineering, who spearheaded the project, TARA uses audio recordings of children reading passages aloud and generates key ORF metrics, including Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM). The app not only evaluates reading speed and accuracy but also considers expression through phrasing, intonation, and stress, offering a comprehensive assessment of reading development.

Trained on expert-annotated recordings, TARA currently supports English and Hindi, and its reliability has been validated against human expert assessments. The project has received funding from the Tata Centre of Technology and Design, the Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation Fellowship, and the school education community.