by: Kennedi Canova – Editor
Launched in 2016, CommonLit is a literacy program that has hundreds of lessons, assessments, and follows ELA curriculums. It has become a staple in the classroom, coming highly recommended by teachers -for teachers- however, some students have mixed opinions on the topic.
CommonLit is a great tool for teachers, allowing them to assess students’ reading levels and the progress they make throughout the school year. Teachers can see these reports in several formats, allowing students to evaluate the progress they have made.
Ms. Howel, an English teacher at Fremont, says “I don’t necessarily “enjoy” it because I prefer discussion based and collaborative learning. But I do think it is beneficial in the sense that there are some really great texts on there that can help supplement our larger units.”
Ms. Meadors, another English teacher, says, “I love CommonLit. It’s very objective and pushes students to read thoroughly. If you don’t read well and answer correctly, you don’t earn any points. As a teacher, it’s a little too easy to give students participation points, basically points for trying. It might be kind, but it isn’t productive and certainly doesn’t push students to work hard and make progress. It also tracks data, which is helpful for planning.”
Students taking English at all grade levels use CommonLit throughout the year for assessments, assignments, etc.
Reagan Johnson, a junior, says, “The lessons on CommonLit are very long and have a lot of questions, so I don’t feel like the lessons are very helpful.”
CommonLit may not be the most exciting experience, but it can have positive benefits for test prep. Hannah Holley, a senior, says, “CommonLit helped me with ACT prep last year, so while I’m not a huge fan, I think the way it’s formatted can be useful for juniors.”
Olivia Werthmann, a junior, describes her favorite and least favorite things about CommonLit, “My favorite thing about it is that it’s easy to use and everything is labeled in ways that are easy to read. My least favorite thing is the writing prompts at the end. Overall, I would rather have teachers teach a regular lesson than use CommonLit.”
While students and teachers seem to disagree on the benefits of CommonLit, it can be argued that schools, including Fremont, have seen measurable improvements in reading comprehension, theme/central idea, connecting ideas, problem and solution/cause and effect, and many other literacy-based skills. The question now is: Should we thank CommonLit for this progress?
