Reading Assistant Audio Retention
In this article...
EPS Reading Assistant, powered by Amira, is designed to minimize concerns while maximizing the value you get from the platform. As part of that, you have the option to configure Reading Assistant to retain student audio recordings. Doing so lets teachers listen back to student tutoring sessions and Oral Reading Fluency assessment passages — useful for hearing exactly how a student read and for re-scoring when needed.
Every district starts with audio storage turned off by default. Districts that prefer a different setup can request a change at any time. This article covers the available audio storage options and outlines how a change request is processed.
October 2026 Update
Our partners at Amira now offer you more choice in how student audio is accessed and saved. Administrators recently received communication to select a preferred audio option via opt-in form by October 2, 2026. Organizations that did not finalize a selection by this date were defaulted to the Audio Off option.
On October 16, 2026 all existing student audio will be irretrievably deleted for customers who have not explicitly opted in to retaining it.
Audio Retention Options
Reading Assistant audio retention defaults went into effect October 2, 2026.
By default, audio storage is turned off. In practice, this means:
- Audio from Reading Assistant Tutor sessions is never saved
- Audio from Reading Assistant Assess is deleted as soon as scoring is complete
- Student audio is never used for training purposes
The tradeoff is that, with this default setting, teachers can't listen to student audio or verify scores against the student's actual verbal responses. This setting affects audio files only — it has no impact on any other Reading Assistant feature or capability.
Districts can choose from three audio retention configurations.
Audio Off (Default)
Audio storage is turned off entirely for Reading Assistant Tutor. Amira still works with the student, but no audio is saved. Reading Assistant Assess audio is deleted within 48 hours of scoring. Once audio is deleted, it is permanently deleted with no recovery mechanism.
Note: Any desired manual scoring review must occur within 48 hours of assessment, after which the student audio is no longer available.
Audio On
Reading Assistant records student audio for Oral Reading Fluency passages for Assessment and Tutoring. Recordings are made available for teachers to listen to and use to re-score ORF passages as needed. Audio recordings are retained through the school year and then deleted at the end of each school year.
Audio Limited
For both Assessment and Tutoring, audio is deleted on a short cycle. Districts choose one of the following:
- Within 48 hours after scoring
- Over the weekend
- The first weekend after the end of each month
How to Request a Change
Only a Reading Assistant-enrolled District Administrator can request a change to audio preferences, and every request must be submitted via an opt-in form.
Enrolled District Administrators must complete the opt-in form to update their audio storage preference directly with our partners at Amira.