AI Closes Reading Gap for Minority Students in Trial

An artificial intelligence system just proved it can help older struggling readers catch up, something traditional interventions have failed to do for decades.

The AI program called Dysolve cleared reading difficulties for students in grades 3 through 8 in a clinical trial. About 80 percent of participants were minority students from low-income communities who tested at the 10th percentile in reading before starting the program.

Dr. Coral Hoh, who developed the system, points to the urgency of the problem. Around 70 percent of students in some states now fail to meet reading standards. While 40 percent of white students read proficiently, fewer than 20 percent of Black students do.

The consequences reach far beyond the classroom. Poor literacy links directly to juvenile delinquency, incarceration, poverty, and mental health issues. Half of prison inmates cannot read or write, and nearly half of adults with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty.

David, a 68-year-old inmate in California, wrote to the company after hearing about Dysolve. He had been incarcerated for eight years and never finished high school because of dyslexia. "Like many inmates here in prison, I didn't get my diploma from high school due to my learning disability," he shared, recalling how being called lazy and dumb crushed his self-esteem as a child.

Special education for reading difficulties costs taxpayers over $120 billion yearly. Yet students with dyslexia still read below grade level and drop out at twice the typical rate. Only 5 percent attend college, compared to 60 percent of their peers.

The Ripple Effect: The AI system changes the equation in several ways. It can't see students or form biases based on appearance, making evaluations truly objective. It works the same whether reading struggles stem from poor learning environments or neurological differences, eliminating the need for expensive diagnoses that cost up to $10,000 per person.

Most importantly, the technology scales. Schools no longer need to depend on scarce, expensive resources to help every struggling reader. The system individualizes instruction automatically, giving each student exactly what they need to break through their specific barriers.

Aaliyah Williams adopted the AI intervention in fifth grade to clear her reading difficulty. She went on to attend Hartwick College, joining the small fraction of students with reading challenges who make it to higher education.

The trial breaks a long-standing barrier in reading research: helping older struggling readers, who previously would continue struggling throughout school regardless of intervention.