Criterion®
Product by ETS
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)
While Criterion provides immediate automated feedback on lower-level writing mechanics, it cannot replace human evaluation for complex argumentation or voice. Learning science shows prompt feedback improves spelling and grammar correction, but automated scoring algorithms often struggle to evaluate deep semantic meaning and true structural coherence.
Pros
- Delivers immediate corrective feedback on spelling and grammar, which learning science shows is critical for procedural skill acquisition.
- Reduces cognitive load for educators by automating routine mechanical corrections, allowing them to focus on higher-order critique.
- Provides structured planning templates that help students organize their thoughts before drafting.
- Allows multiple revision cycles, reinforcing the iterative nature of the writing process.
Cons
- Relies on automated scoring algorithms that cannot accurately evaluate nuanced argumentation, tone, or creative voice.
- Risks incentivizing students to write formulaic essays designed to satisfy the algorithm rather than authentic audiences.
- Offers limited feedback on deep semantic meaning or logical fallacies within the text.
What Do We Know About Criterion®?
Criterion is effective for drilling basic writing mechanics and grammar, but it cannot teach your child how to construct a deeply reasoned, persuasive argument. Because it relies on automated essay scoring, the platform excels at catching surface-level errors like misplaced commas, spelling mistakes, and repetitive sentence structures. This immediate diagnostic feedback is highly beneficial; learning science demonstrates that prompt correction helps solidify basic procedural skills before errors become ingrained. However, parents and educators must understand the limitations of artificial intelligence in writing instruction. The system evaluates organization and development based on predictable structural markers rather than actual comprehension of the essay's meaning. As a result, your child might receive a high score for a structurally sound but logically flawed essay. You should use Criterion as a drafting assistant rather than a primary writing teacher. It acts as a strict proofreader, cleaning up the mechanics so that when a human teacher reviews the work, they can focus entirely on the quality of the ideas, the strength of the evidence, and the authenticity of the student's voice. The Learning Standard has not yet formally evaluated Criterion, but its underlying technology aligns best with a blended learning approach where human oversight remains central.
How Does Criterion® Work?
Criterion utilizes a mastery-based revision model supported by automated diagnostic feedback. When your child logs into the system, they typically begin by using digital graphic organizers and outlining tools to structure their essay. After submitting a draft, the ETS scoring engine immediately analyzes the text. The platform highlights specific errors categorized into grammar, usage, mechanics, spelling, and organization. Students click on highlighted text to receive an explanation of the error and a prompt to correct it. This creates a tight feedback loop. Instead of waiting days or weeks for a teacher to grade a paper, the student immediately applies corrections, effectively engaging in retrieval practice for grammar rules. Educators monitor this process via a dashboard that tracks the types of errors students make across multiple drafts. The workflow requires students to repeatedly revise and resubmit their work until the mechanical errors are resolved, ensuring they master foundational writing conventions before finalizing the assignment for human review.
Strengths and tradeoffs of Criterion®
Criterion's biggest strength is its capacity for immediate corrective feedback on foundational mechanics, while its biggest weakness is its inability to evaluate authentic meaning and logical nuance. Strengths in skill acquisition: Learning science dictates that immediate feedback is highly effective for correcting factual and procedural errors. By instantly flagging spelling and grammar mistakes, Criterion prevents students from reinforcing bad habits. It effectively forces students to apply corrections in real-time, reducing the cognitive load on human teachers who can then focus their energy on evaluating higher-order thinking skills. Furthermore, the platform encourages an iterative writing process, shifting the focus from a single final draft to continuous revision. Weaknesses in deep learning: Automated scoring systems rely on proxy metrics for good writing, such as transition words and paragraph length. They cannot comprehend meaning. Consequently, students often learn to game the algorithm by writing formulaic, predictable essays that lack voice or genuine insight. The system cannot reliably flag logical fallacies, poor evidence selection, or weak argumentation if the surface-level structure appears correct. Therefore, the tool is only pedagogically sound when paired with rigorous human instruction and review.
Who Might Benefit From Criterion®?
Criterion is best for middle school, high school, and early college students who struggle with writing mechanics and need an automated proofreading step before submitting work to instructors. It serves as an excellent institutional tool for schools looking to standardize the drafting process and alleviate the grading burden on humanities teachers. Because it requires basic typing and formatting skills, it is less suitable for early elementary students. It is highly recommended for blended learning environments where educators use the platform's data to target their classroom instruction on specific, recurring grammar and structural errors.
Data Transparency
Meets Data Transparency Standard
Criterion® meets our data transparency standard at Level 2 of 3 (Parent control). Level 3 needs the policy to document an API for retrieving their own data and a named export format.
21 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.
Level 2 · Parent control (meets the standard)
Families can get their data out, know who processes it, and know how long it is kept.
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?
“Parents and teachers can review and delete the child's information at any time in the K-8 App.”
Can parents view their child's data?
“Parents and teachers can review and delete the child's information at any time in the K-8 App.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
The policy lets parents review and delete a child's information but does not say parents can correct or modify it.
Can parents delete their child's account?
“ETS does not retain K-12 Student Data longer than needed to fulfill the educational purposes for which it was collected. We will also delete K-12 Student Data upon request of the school or (if feasible) the applicable parent or student.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“ETS provides primary and middle school parents and teachers with the ability to download certain apps that they and their children or students can use for educational purposes, such as to improve reading fluency. Some of these “K-8 Apps” are intended for use by children under 13 years of age.”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
The policy refers only to "applicable children's privacy laws" and never names COPPA.
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
The policy does not mention FERPA.
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“Parents and schools may create accounts for children, such as registering them for tests. The parent or school (acting for the parent) must consent to our processing of the child’s data as described in this Privacy Notice for ETS to administer the test.”
Data Portability3/5
Can users access their personal data?
“You have the right to request a copy of the personal information that ETS maintains about you. To exercise this right, please email”
Can users download/export their data?
“The right to know if we maintain your personal information, and if we do, to access that information (subject to the rights of others) and to request that we provide your information in a portable format,”
Is there a self-service data access tool?
“If you have an online account, you can log into your account at any time to access and update the information you have provided to us (with the exception of your name, gender, birthdate or Social Security number, if provided).”
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
The policy mentions only a "portable format" and names no specific file 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?
“ETS may collect the child's first name or nickname, age or grade in school, and basic demographic data from the parent or guardian when the child’s account is created within the K-8 Apps.”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy says student data includes identifiers such as the student's name, and the K-8 apps collect the child's first name or nickname.
Can the app be used without an email?
The policy collects email addresses as contact information and does not state that student emails are never collected.
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
“ETS does not collect, maintain, use or disclose K-12 Student Data other than as needed for authorized educational/school purposes, or as appropriately authorized by a school, parent, or student.”
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy says server logs record IP addresses and does not say they are anonymized or truncated.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy does not exclude location tracking, and its server logs record the country and time zone of the user's device.
Third-Party Protection6/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“However, we are deeply committed to protecting the privacy and security of all the Personal Information that is entrusted to us. We do not sell Personal Information.”
Are third-party providers named?
“Our websites use third party analytics services, such as Google Analytics.”
Are providers contractually restricted?
“ETS protects K-12 Student Data at all times using appropriate security measures, including encryption, and disclosing the information only to third parties that are capable of and contractually obligated to maintaining its confidentiality and security.”
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“In particular, ETS does not: - Use any K-12 Student Data for targeted advertising”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
The policy covers automated decision-making but does not address sharing data with AI or machine-learning systems.
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“Sell K-12 Student Data or otherwise disclose the K-12 Student Data to any third party unless (i) such third parties are data processors acting on our behalf, (ii) the disclosure is required by law or otherwise legally permitted, or (iii) the disclosure is made at the request of the school, the student or the parent for educational purposes.”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“You can use our Cookie Management Platformto control which of these cookies you wish to accept or to reject all non-necessary cookies.”
Deletion & Retention3/5
Can users delete their account?
“You have the right to request that we delete or anonymize your personal information. You can also request that we delete your ETS account.”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
“Parents and teachers can review and delete the child's information at any time in the K-8 App.”
Specific data retention timeline?
“Unless we are required by law or have a legitimate interest to retain your information, we will delete it within 30 days of your request.”
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
The policy does not address automatic deletion of inactive accounts.
Post-deletion handling described?
The policy sets a deletion timeline and lists retention exceptions but does not describe how data is handled after deletion, such as backups.
Advertising2/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
“Advertising cookies,** which allow us and our partners to display personalized ads to you on our site and on other websites that you visit.”
Free from third-party advertisements?
The policy says users may see other companies' ads on ETS websites and does not say the student products are ad-free.
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“Create K-12 Student profiles for advertising or for any other purpose that is not required for educational purposes”
Ad-free option available?
The policy offers an opt-out from targeted advertising but no ad-free option, and it does not say the product has no ads.
Meets Data Transparency Standard
The reviewed policy met our data transparency standard. This result describes the policy disclosures we assessed. Actual practices and legal compliance were not verified.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of ETS Privacy and Security Policy and K-12 Student Data Privacy Statement 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 Criterion® 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 Criterion®
Is Criterion free?
No, Criterion is not free. It is a paid service primarily licensed by schools, districts, and higher education institutions through ETS or authorized distributors. Pricing operates on either a subscription or submission-based model, depending on the scale of deployment. Individual licensing options exist, but parents typically access the platform through their child's school rather than purchasing it directly for home use.
Is Criterion good for elementary students?
No, Criterion is generally not recommended for early elementary students. The platform requires a foundational ability to type, structure paragraphs, and navigate digital interfaces independently. It is highly effective for middle school, high school, and college students who are producing multi-paragraph essays and need targeted, immediate feedback on complex grammar, usage, and organizational structures.
What does Criterion teach?
Criterion teaches the foundational mechanics of writing, specifically grammar, spelling, usage, and basic structural organization. It trains students to recognize and correct surface-level errors through immediate diagnostic feedback. While it claims to support higher-level writing, it functions primarily as a rigorous digital proofreader that forces students into an iterative revision process. This ensures essays are mechanically sound before human evaluation, freeing up teachers to teach actual content.
Criterion vs Grammarly: Which is better for student writers?
Criterion is better for structured, teacher-led essay drafting, while Grammarly is better for on-the-go, real-time writing assistance across the web. Criterion forces students to stay within a specific essay-writing interface and relies on teachers to set assignments and review data. Grammarly integrates into browsers and word processors, providing immediate line-edits anywhere. Both rely on automated feedback, but Criterion is built specifically for institutional academic assessment.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated Criterion®?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well Criterion® teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and reaches Level 2, Parent control.
Is Criterion® COPPA compliant?
A COPPA reference was not found in the reviewed privacy policy. This does not determine whether the app complies with COPPA. Policy review note: The policy refers only to "applicable children's privacy laws" and never names COPPA.
Is Criterion® 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 Criterion® have a children's privacy policy?
The reviewed policy includes a dedicated children's privacy section. Policy review note: This passage comes from the section headed "Children Under 13 Years Old".
Does Criterion® 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: ETS states it does not sell personal information.
Can you delete your data from Criterion®?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Users can request account deletion.
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- Pricing
- Criterion can be licensed by individuals and institutions through ETS or a distributor. Licensing and hosting options include subscription and submission models, as well as professional services for onboarding, certification, training.
- Platforms
- Web Browser, iPadOS (Apple tablet), Windows (Microsoft), macOS (Apple), Chrome OS (Google)
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