CommonLit

CommonLit is a nonprofit educational technology organization that provides a free, comprehensive reading and literacy curriculum for students in grades three through twelve. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, CommonLit has grown to serve millions of students and teachers globally, building one of the most widely adopted free literacy platforms in K-12 education. The organization's mission is to ensure that all students — regardless of their school's budget — have access to high-quality reading instruction with engaging texts, assessment tools, and teacher resources.\n\nCommonLit's library contains thousands of literary and informational texts spanning fiction, poetry, historical documents, and news articles, all assessed for reading level and aligned to ELA standards. Teachers can assign individual texts with built-in guided reading supports — including vocabulary definitions, audio read-aloud, and annotation tools — and assess comprehension through guided reading questions and discussion prompts. The platform provides real-time data dashboards showing student performance, highlighting which students are struggling with specific comprehension skills and which texts are generating engagement or difficulty.\n\nCommonLit's recent addition of a structured literacy curriculum and the organization's acquisition by Newsela have strengthened its position as a comprehensive K-12 literacy platform. While the free tier remains central to its mission, CommonLit also offers a premium paid tier for schools and districts that want additional curriculum features, professional development resources, and reporting. The organization competes with ReadWorks, Newsela, and district-adopted reading programs from publishers like Amplify and Benchmark Education, while maintaining broad adoption driven by its free core offering.