How READSmart works
READSmart helps teachers assess oral reading in Philippine elementary schools. It uses Phil-IRI for Grades 4–6 and supports English and Filipino passages.
From recording to teacher review
- Record
A student reads a passage for their grade and language on a phone or tablet.
- Upload
The browser uploads the recording to private storage.
- Queue
The recording waits for the processing computer to pick it up.
- Find speech
Voice activity detection identifies the parts of the recording that contain speech.
- Transcribe
Whisper produces a transcript of the recording.
- Align
WhisperX matches words in the transcript to their times in the recording.
- Compare
READSmart compares the transcript with the passage and marks differences for review.
- Measure
The system calculates reading rate and error measurements.
- Calibrate
A regression model adjusts reading-rate estimates using grade and language.
- Store
The processing computer sends the results back to READSmart for the teacher to review.
- Review
The teacher checks the recording and results before deciding what instruction the student needs.
Research behind READSmart
READSmart is a thesis project. These pages explain how it was tested, what the study found and where it falls short.
- Research overviewWhat the study asks, and what calibration changed.
- FindingsEvery result, with its numbers and its limits.
- MethodologyHow recordings were collected, scored and compared.
- Design decisionsWhy READSmart is built this way, including the technology stack.
- LimitationsWhat the results cannot tell you yet.
- SourcesThe studies and documents READSmart builds on.
How accounts work
One sign-in page accepts a student username, or a staff username or email. Access still depends on the account role and status.
- Students
- A teacher creates a short username and a temporary password made from two familiar words and three digits. The temporary password expires after 72 hours and must be replaced at first sign-in. A new password must have at least 8 characters.
- Teachers
- Teachers request access with their email and password. The account stays pending until a school administrator approves it.
- Administrators
- Administrators are provisioned or seeded. There is no public administrator registration.
How teachers use the results
READSmart measures each recording as a whole. Word highlights help teachers compare the transcript with the passage, but have not been validated for detecting mispronunciation. Teachers assign the Phil-IRI reading level; READSmart does not determine it.
Read the limitations