AllSides for Schools
Product by AllSides Technologies, Inc.
Facts checked: Not yet checked
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating). This label applies to learning-science judgments throughout this overview.
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating)
The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated AllSides for Schools, but its design actively supports cognitive flexibility. By presenting side-by-side media coverage, it forces your child to engage in comparative analysis rather than passive reading. However, it requires active teacher facilitation to ensure students do not become overwhelmed by conflicting information.
Pros
- Uses comparative analysis to highlight media bias across different news sources.
- Reduces cognitive load by curating topics into accessible, side-by-side viewpoints.
- Provides structured dialogue frameworks that encourage active recall and perspective-taking.
Cons
- Lacks automated feedback mechanisms to assess a student's grasp of media literacy concepts.
- Relies heavily on teacher facilitation rather than offering self-guided mastery paths.
- Does not utilize spaced repetition to reinforce long-term retention of civic vocabulary.
What Do We Know About AllSides for Schools?
AllSides for Schools serves as an effective supplemental tool for developing critical thinking, though it relies heavily on teacher instruction rather than standalone learning mechanics. Because The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated this platform, we cannot definitively rate its standalone efficacy. However, the platform uses a sound pedagogical foundation based on comparative analysis. It presents your child with news stories grouped by political leaning: left, center, and right. This forces students to actively compare texts, a practice cognitive science links to deeper comprehension and schema building. Unlike drill-and-practice applications, this tool does not teach facts. Instead, it scaffolds media literacy skills. Your child learns to identify loaded language and framing bias by analyzing contrasting headlines. The platform does not offer automated assessments or immediate corrective feedback, meaning a teacher or parent must actively guide the discussion. If your child struggles with reading comprehension, the varied lexile levels of authentic news articles may introduce extraneous cognitive load. Ultimately, AllSides for Schools is a highly structured content library that requires human facilitation to translate exposure into actual learning.
How Does AllSides for Schools Work?
AllSides for Schools uses guided comparative analysis to teach media literacy and bias detection. The platform aggregates current events and presents the same story covered by three different media outlets, categorized by their political bias rating. Students read the side-by-side articles to identify differences in framing, omitted facts, and headline construction. Teachers use the provided lesson plans and discussion guides to facilitate classroom dialogue. The mechanics involve direct text analysis rather than gamified progression or adaptive algorithms. The platform does not track individual student mastery or adjust reading difficulty based on user performance. Instead, it relies on the educator to assign specific topics, moderate the resulting debates, and assess student understanding through external assignments. By structuring information this way, the platform scaffolds the complex task of source evaluation, making it easier for your child to spot subjective reporting in real-time.
Strengths and tradeoffs of AllSides for Schools
The biggest strength of AllSides for Schools is its use of side-by-side textual comparison, while its biggest weakness is the absence of automated formative assessment. From a learning science perspective, the platform excels at promoting cognitive flexibility. By requiring students to read contrasting viewpoints on the same event, it prevents rigid schema formation and encourages critical evaluation. The clear visual categorization of bias acts as a worked example, modeling how adults categorize media sources. This scaffolding helps your child focus on the analysis of the reporting rather than just absorbing the facts. However, the platform lacks intrinsic learning loops. There is no retrieval practice built into the software to ensure students remember key civic vocabulary. It also does not provide immediate corrective feedback. If a student misinterprets an article's bias, the software does not correct them; it requires a teacher to intervene. Additionally, the reliance on authentic news texts means the reading difficulty is not adaptive, potentially causing cognitive overload for students with lower reading proficiencies.
Who Might Benefit From AllSides for Schools?
AllSides for Schools is best for middle and high school social studies teachers who need structured, unbiased content to facilitate classroom debates. While technically labeled for all ages, the cognitive demands of evaluating complex media narratives make it most appropriate for students aged twelve and older. It serves as an excellent resource for civics, history, and journalism classes. Parents looking for an independent, self-guided app for their child will find it lacking, as the platform is designed explicitly for educator-led environments to foster group dialogue and guided text analysis.
Data Transparency
Does Not Meet Data Transparency Standard
AllSides for Schools does not meet our data transparency standard. Its privacy policy does not document basic protections, including a commitment against targeted advertising and contractual limits on service providers.
15 of 35 checks passed
Level 1 · Basic protections
Does not sell data or target ads at students, limits sharing, and lets parents see and delete their child's data.
Not documented: a commitment against targeted advertising, contractual limits on service providers
Level 2 · Parent control (meets the standard)
Families can get their data out, know who processes it, and know how long it is kept.
Not documented: data export, self-service deletion
Level 3 · Direct data access
Families or schools can pull their own data through an API, in a stated format.
Not documented: an API for retrieving their own data, a named export format
View all 35 checks
Parent Access5/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“If you are a parent interested in exercising your rights over your children’s data, you should contact the school which granted your child access to our Platform to coordinate the exercise of these rights on your behalf.”
Can parents view their child's data?
“If you are a parent interested in exercising your rights over your children’s data, you should contact the school which granted your child access to our Platform to coordinate the exercise of these rights on your behalf.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
The policy lists rights to review, delete and withdraw consent for children's data but gives no right to correct or modify it.
Can parents delete their child's account?
“Require us to delete the personal information of a child or children in your care.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“## Privacy Protections for Children Using the Internet”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
“This notice solely describes our practices regarding the personal information of children and compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).”
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
The policy does not mention FERPA.
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
The policy gets consent from school officials acting for parents and only encourages minors to ask their parents; it does not require consent from parents themselves.
Data Portability1/5
Can users access their personal data?
“Email [privacy@allsides.com](mailto:privacy@allsides.com) to request access, correction, and deletion of your data.”
Can users download/export their data?
The policy does not address downloading or exporting data.
Is there a self-service data access tool?
The policy offers access only by email request; the Settings page is for adjusting information, not accessing it.
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
The policy does not mention any export format.
Is there an API for data access?
The policy does not mention an API for data access.
Data Minimization2/6
Is data collection itemized?
“When you sign up for an AllSides membership account, we may ask for your name, email address, account username and password.”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy states that first and last name are collected and linked to users.
Can the app be used without an email?
The policy states that email is collected and linked to users.
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
“In all cases, as required by law, we do not collect more personal information from your child than is reasonably necessary for them to access and use the Platform.”
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy collects IP addresses and does not say they are anonymized or truncated.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy states it may collect a child's precise geolocation when entering the platform.
Third-Party Protection4/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“We do not sell your data.”
Are third-party providers named?
“**Advertising.** CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a Raptive (“Raptive”) is a service provider of this Site for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and Raptive will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes.”
Are providers contractually restricted?
The policy says third parties may use information under their own privacy policies and does not describe contractual restrictions.
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
The policy states that third parties and AllSides may use information for interest-based advertising and makes no no-targeted-ads commitment for students.
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
The policy does not address AI or machine learning data sharing.
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“In California we do not knowingly sell the personal information of minors under 16 years old.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“Click Manage Preferences in the footer to turn off all tracking (e.g. cookies).”
Deletion & Retention2/5
Can users delete their account?
“Email [privacy@allsides.com](mailto:privacy@allsides.com) to request access, correction, and deletion of your data.”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
The policy offers deletion only by email request, with no self-service mechanism.
Specific data retention timeline?
“Video: 90 days”
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
The policy does not address automatic deletion of inactive accounts.
Post-deletion handling described?
The policy does not describe how data is handled after deletion.
Advertising1/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
“**Advertising.** CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a Raptive (“Raptive”) is a service provider of this Site for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and Raptive will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes.”
Free from third-party advertisements?
The policy states that Raptive places third-party advertising on the site.
Children excluded from ad targeting?
The policy does not state that children are excluded from ad targeting.
Ad-free option available?
The policy does not describe an ad-free option.
What This Means
The policy review did not meet our data transparency standard. The checks above show the documented findings and unknowns. A missing statement does not establish how the app handles data in practice.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of Privacy Notice and AllSides School Membership Agreement with COPPA notice against 35 policy-disclosure questions, including questions adapted from the Common Sense Privacy Program's published evaluation questions. TLS is not affiliated with Common Sense Media, and this is not a Common Sense rating. Quoted text is copied from the policy; unquoted notes are our summary. Results describe what the policy documents, not the company's actual practices. Privacy policies can change: this review reflects the version we analyzed and does not determine legal compliance.
Sources and review method
TLS combines product information and editorial analysis to explain how AllSides for Schools works, its tradeoffs, and the questions to ask before choosing it. Product features, an instructional rationale and evidence of learning outcomes are different kinds of information.
Formal Learning Standard assessment: not yet completed. Data Transparency findings are reported separately and do not establish learning effectiveness. Read our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About AllSides for Schools
Is AllSides for Schools free?
No, AllSides for Schools is not entirely free. While the main AllSides website offers free public access to its daily news curation and bias ratings, the specific educational tools, lesson plans, and classroom integration features require a paid subscription. Schools and districts must contact the vendor directly for detailed pricing, as costs depend entirely on the scale of implementation and the number of student licenses required.
Is AllSides for Schools good for elementary students?
No, it is primarily designed for middle and high school students rather than early learners. While the developer broadly lists it for all ages, the cognitive requirements of media literacy and the reading levels of authentic news articles are too advanced for most young children. Older students possess the necessary cognitive development to engage in perspective-taking and identify subtle textual biases without experiencing severe cognitive overload.
What does AllSides for Schools teach?
AllSides for Schools teaches media literacy, bias detection, and civic readiness. It trains your child to identify subjective framing, loaded language, and omitted facts in modern news reporting. Instead of teaching memorizable historical facts or mathematical formulas, it actively builds the critical thinking skills necessary to evaluate information sources. This equips students to engage in constructive dialogue with people who hold opposing viewpoints in a democratic society.
How does AllSides for Schools compare to Newsela?
AllSides for Schools focuses strictly on media bias and perspective analysis, whereas Newsela focuses on reading comprehension across various subjects. Newsela adapts text complexity to a student's specific reading level, which is a proven method for scaffolding literacy. AllSides uses authentic, unedited texts to teach critical evaluation. Schools often use both platforms concurrently to achieve different instructional goals within the social studies curriculum.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated AllSides for Schools?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well AllSides for Schools teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and does not yet document the basic protections (Level 1).
Is AllSides for Schools COPPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references COPPA. A policy reference alone does not establish COPPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy explicitly addresses COPPA compliance.
Is AllSides for Schools FERPA compliant?
A FERPA reference was not found in the reviewed privacy policy. This does not determine whether the app complies with FERPA. Policy review note: The policy does not mention FERPA.
Does AllSides for Schools have a children's privacy policy?
The reviewed policy includes a dedicated children's privacy section. Policy review note: Children's privacy has its own section, and there is also a separate COPPA notice.
Does AllSides for Schools sell student data?
The reviewed policy states that the app does not sell data. This is a policy statement; actual data practices were not verified. Policy review note: The policy explicitly states AllSides does not sell user data.
Can you delete your data from AllSides for Schools?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Users can request deletion of their data by email.
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