Localized Reading Assessments for the 21st Century

For decades, traditional reading assessments have relied on a passage-question format that primarily measures surface-level knowledge, requiring minimal critical thinking, and other 21stcentury skills from students. Worse, these assessments often singularly reflect Eurocentric perspectives that may not resonate with students from diverse cultural backgrounds and are disconnected from real-world content-area instruction. To bridge this gap and meet the demands of the 21st century, reading assessments must evolve to include performance assessments that are relevant to learners and aligned with classroom instruction. This project aims to fully develop Capti SBA, an innovative AI-powered tool that empowers educators to automatically create culturally responsive, scenario-based assessments (SBAs) for students in grades K-12. With real-time feedback and customizable features, Capti SBA fosters personalized learning, enhances critical literacy skills, and promotes continuous improvement. By democratizing the development of reading assessments, Capti SBA will generate thousands of assessments that are inclusive, relevant, and tailored to individual learning objectives— ultimately improving reading comprehension and creating fairer, more equitable assessments for historically marginalized students.