What student tools does CommonLit offer on the Assessment Series and Free Reading Assessment?

Students can actively engage with online reading passages on assessments using a two-color highlighter and a digital notepad. CommonLit also offers a read aloud feature for assessments that can be enabled for specific students who may require read aloud in their IEP or 504 accommodations. These embedded tools allow students to highlight information in the text and jot down ideas — strategies that can support comprehension and build confidence while testing. Additionally, all highlights and notes are saved and will reappear if the test is resumed — even across devices or if a teacher unsubmits the test.

To highlight, students can select a portion of the text, which will automatically open the highlighter tool. They can then choose to highlight in red or blue. If they need to remove a highlight, they can re-select the text and choose "Remove highlight."

Students will have a separate digital notepad available for each passage in the assessment in order to keep track of important information about the passage that might help them answer the questions. When they click to open the notepad, they will see the notepad for whichever passage they are currently viewing.

To open the digital notepad, students can click the Notepad option in the top right corner of their screen. Or, if they are using a mobile device or tablet, they can click Notepad in the footer toolbar at the bottom of their screen.

Then, they can click into the text box to type their notes. Students can also click and drag the notepad to reposition it to a preferred location on screen as needed.

Please note: Highlights and notepad entries are only visible to the student — they’re not used for grading, and mark-ups or notes can’t be viewed by teachers. This makes the tools feel safe and low-stakes for students to experiment with strategies.

To enable Read Aloud for students with that accommodation, you can go to the Student Status page for the assessment, and then check the box in the Read Aloud column for any students who should receive access to that tool.  

When those specific students open their assessment, they should see the Read Aloud button listed in the upper right hand corner of the screen next to the Notepad button. 

After students have turned the Read Aloud feature on, they can then click the down arrow next to where it says Play to adjust the read aloud speed as needed. They can also select the option to Turn Off Read Aloud there as well. 

You can read more about our Read Aloud feature here: How can students hear their Assessment Series test or Free Reading Assessment read aloud?