# Newsela Reviews **Vendor:** Newsela **Category:** [Digital Learning Platforms](https://www.g2.com/categories/digital-learning-platforms) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 22 ## About Newsela Newsela is an educational technology platform designed to enhance literacy and learning outcomes for K-12 students by providing engaging, real-world content tailored to diverse reading levels. With a vast library of over 15,000 authentic texts, Newsela offers differentiated articles across various subjects, enabling educators to deliver personalized instruction that meets each student's unique needs. Key Features and Functionality: - Differentiated Content: Each article is available at five reading levels, ensuring accessibility for all students and supporting differentiated instruction. - Standards-Aligned Assessments: Embedded quizzes and writing prompts aligned with educational standards help assess comprehension and critical thinking skills. - Subject-Specific Resources: Newsela offers specialized products such as Newsela ELA, Newsela Social Studies, Newsela Science, and Newsela Writing, each providing curated content and instructional tools tailored to specific subjects. - AI-Powered Tools: Features like AI-generated graphic organizers and real-time, rubric-aligned writing feedback assist in deepening student comprehension and improving writing skills. - Formative Assessment Integration: The platform includes tools for real-time assessment and reporting, enabling educators to monitor student progress and adjust instruction accordingly. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: Newsela addresses the challenge of engaging students with diverse learning needs by offering accessible, high-interest content that fosters motivation and enhances literacy skills. By aligning materials with educational standards and providing real-time insights into student performance, Newsela empowers educators to deliver effective, personalized instruction. The platform's integration of AI-powered tools and formative assessments streamlines the teaching process, allowing for timely feedback and targeted support, ultimately driving meaningful learning outcomes for every student. ## Newsela Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users appreciate the **variety of high-quality content** tailored to different reading levels and interests on Newsela. (2 reviews) - Users appreciate the **easy integration** of Newsela's content into classroom instruction, enhancing their teaching experience. (1 reviews) - Users appreciate the **customization options** of Newsela, allowing tailored content and easy classroom integration. (1 reviews) - Users appreciate the **ease of use** of Newsela, seamlessly integrating relevant content into classroom instruction. (1 reviews) - Users appreciate the **easy integrations** of Newsela, seamlessly incorporating its content into classroom instruction. (1 reviews) - Integrations (1 reviews) - Memory Retention (1 reviews) - Personalized Learning (1 reviews) - Student Engagement (1 reviews) - Variety (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users are frustrated by the **expensive subscription model** requiring payment for access that was previously free. (1 reviews) - Users are frustrated by the **limited free access** now requiring a subscription for full features that were once free. (1 reviews) - Users dislike the **limited free features** of Newsela, feeling forced to pay for full access that was once free. (1 reviews) ## Newsela Reviews ### 1. Great Variety of Texts with Helpful Age-Level Recommendations **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2026 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I love the variety of texts that are available as far as content and recommended age level. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** I don’t like that I now have to buy a subscription to get full access. Full access used to be free, and I preferred it that way. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Newsela solves the challenge of having to search for articles that fit the grade level I teach while also matching a range of student interest levels. ### 2. Access meaningful news from around the world **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mel M. | CA Dept. of Real Estate Salesperson, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 01, 2025 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I like how the content can meet an individual's reading level. I like how I can search for articles based on subject matter. I also like how I can easily integrate the information on Newsela into my classroom instruction. I frequently check it for new articles. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** I don't see a downside. I haven't had to use customer support. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** I do not have to spend a lot of time searching for articles that are relevant for my students. ### 3. Great for students to keep up with current events **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Destiny W. | physics instructor/Ed.Tech Team, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 09, 2022 **What do you like best about Newsela?** My favorite part is being able to adjust the reading level for the students. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** I would appreciate more tutorials on filtering to find a preferred assignment. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Explore - there are several different uses, whether it's to consume your own information or to disseminate information to others **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** The biggest thing is keeping students up to date on current events and being able to have a starting point for discussions. ### 4. Great for Differentiated Learning **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 23, 2022 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I love that I can find articles about a variety of topics, and I can choose the reading level that my students need. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** Sometimes I need to ask my own questions instead of using the questions that come with the article. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Newsela helps my students stay informed with kid-friendly articles and level-appropriate sentences/vocabulary. ### 5. Newsela in the Classroom **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Spencer B. | Teacher, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 31, 2021 **What do you like best about Newsela?** The most beneficial aspect of Newsela is that it gives students the ability to set the reading level of the text to that which is the most appropriate for them. I am able to give the entire class the same article and know that all students will be appropriately challenged in their reading, regardless of their reading ability. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** The only downside of Newsella for me is that I have a hard time integrating it with Google Classroom. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** The main problem that I solve with Newsela is assigning the same text to students with varying reading levels. Sometimes it can be a challenge to find different texts that convey the same information to students on different reading levels or to provide enough scaffolding for all students to read the same text, but Newsela takes care of all that with their reading level selector. ### 6. Differentiation made easy **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** SARAH C. | Teacher, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 16, 2021 **What do you like best about Newsela?** The levels of articles and variety of engaging topics available to students! **What do you dislike about Newsela?** Some students have a hard time logging on **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Cost of this program is a bit excessive, especially for school districts like mine. Maybe consider a discount rate for schools with high poverty or special education population **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Students in my high school read at very different levels - this allows them all to learn/discuss current events at their level ### 7. Differentiation and Relevance in Education **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lauryn G. | ESOL Teacher/Department Chair, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 15, 2021 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I use Newsela in my classroom because it allows me to provide differentiated material for my students' varying reading levels. When assigning readings, readers are able to adjust the content based off of their Lexie level, so if the material is too challenging or too easy, the reader can adjust accordingly. I also really appreciate that Newsela allows me to connect what my students are learning to real life situations and current events. This enriches my students' understanding and fosters curiosity in the concepts they are learning. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** This is less of a criticism of Newsela and more of a challenge with teaching, but the more advanced features of Newsela are only offered through a subscription cost. I also wish that Newsela was a bit more user friendly. Once you understand how to use the features, it gets a bit easier, but I do wish there were more guided lessons for instructional use. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Talk to your administrators to see if your school can purchase the full access subscription. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** As mentioned, Newsela allows for easy differentiation by reading level. This is such a tremendously helpful tool as an educator because it is seemless and effoetless. This differentiation feature allows for all learners to engage with the content, even burgeoning language learners. ### 8. Great way to get students excited about current events **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 05, 2022 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I love that there are a variety Of articles that students can choose from. Kids today need more access to real news stories that are unbiased. It also is able to be differentiated. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** Some of the content is above students reading ability. However, with help students can find articles that are on their reading level. I wish that there could be a better way to filter topics. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Students are more excited about learning. It also makes virtual learning much easier as this can all be done virtually and assigned through google classroom. Students are learning about current events from reliable sources. ### 9. Newsela **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I like that Newsela offers multiple different types of text and at different levels. It gives informational and news worthy reading but also provides literary too. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** Some of the texts may not have levels that are needed for specific students within the classroom and an alternate passage may need to be chosen, however sometimes it is hard to find something on the same topic. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Students have been able to access different leveled texts and answer questions about their reading and understanding. Students are also able to explore other genres of text. ### 10. Fantastic **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Wanda F. | 7th grade ELA teacher **Reviewed Date:** December 15, 2021 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I like that I can see my students' progress instantly **What do you dislike about Newsela?** The downside is getting in contact with someone when there is a problem...such as when a student click on the teacher button instead of the student button **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Newsela increase the student motivation to read informational articles ### 11. Amazing! AGREAT resource! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Daquia M. | Teacher, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 07, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** Everything! I like the paired sets and the multitude of options for assessment. I have used Newsela for years and will continue to do so. Great for all K-12 grades. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** Nothing! They are always improving and I will continue to use them for instruction in my classroom. I like that I can assign my students work which they can complete on their own. Additionally, the stories can be read to them which helps build fluency! Update: Not much for Kindergarten to be considered on grade level so would like to see improvement in this area. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am able to assign relevant, high-interest readings to my students and assess them with rigor and standards-based question stems. I can use the same article and differentiate my lesson accordingly. I do like the variety of content as it provides both informational and fictional literature. ### 12. Very Informative **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jenny C. | Teacher, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 22, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I like that the information that gives me students is factual and not someone's point of view. It is easy for my students to read on all reading levels. There is many different topics to engage the reader. Teachers can research and set the topics that pretains to their content so students can see articles that relate to the content they are learning. Many of the articles students read they can relate to the story. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** I would say there are so many articles it is hard to decide which one or two articles to assign for students to read. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Very engaging for your students **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Giving students articles and stories that stir good conversations that students can relate to their own experiences and builds problem-solving skills to help them in real life. ### 13. A Great way to Incorporate Nonfiction Text into the Classroom **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Carolyn W. | 4th Grade Teacher, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 09, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I like that NewsELA provides up to date, current event news in a format that works for kids. The website is arranged in such a way that it is easy to find what you are looking for whether it be latest news, good news or surprising news. You can also search by topics if you are looking for something specific. It gives you the opportunity to create assignments for your students that include the lexile (reading level) as well as a writing activity and a quiz. I really like that articles include a variety of lexile levels so that you can best meet the needs of each student in your class. Differentiation is huge so the ability to quickly switch between reading levels is invaluable. Finally, many of the features are free. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** The one thing I don't like is that to access all of the features, you need a subscription. Like most things, there are features like seeing your students progress that you can only access for a fee. As a public school teacher, this isn't feasible for every platform I use. I have found that enough of the features are free and usable without the subscription fee. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Consider whether you need access to the screening tools or progress monitoring tools that require a subscription. This may or may not meet your needs if you are using it for progress monitoring tools. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Newsela has allowed us to have a large collection of already screen nonfiction articles available at all times. The hardest part of using nonfiction articles (current events especially) is finding one that is appropriate in content and at an appropriate reading level for my students. I would spend hours upon hours searching through articles to find one that was accessible to all of my students. The ability to choose different reading levels within one article allows ALL of my students to access the content. We have used Newsela as research materials as well as for current event discussions. ### 14. Great source for news and paired texts **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Brittany L. | Teacher, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 06, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I love how NewsELA has paired lessons that go along with the reading. The majority of the articles are unbiased. My students love engaging on NewsELA. There are so many articles that make it easy to pick something tat my students would be interested in that also fits their reading level and the curriculum that I am teaching. It doesn't get any easier. Just today I was on NewsELA finding articles that go along with the election. I love it! **What do you dislike about Newsela?** I have not found anything that I do not like about NewsELA. I used it for years and not really found anything that I did not like. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** I would recommend that all educators, homeschool parents, tutors, etc., check out NewsELA. It will make your life easier. Instead of searching, planning, mapping, scheduling, and so on, just click and submit. You also have the ability to print off articles for those of us who are in a hybrid or fully in person setting. PERFECTION. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** By NewsELA doing all the hard work, ie. pairing the text with questions, I have saved a lot of time and been able to focus my attention elsewhere. I have loved reading the articles along with my students. There are so many good articles available on this platform. ### 15. (Sometimes) Great Reading Materials **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mickey B. | Teacher, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 10, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** A relevant variety of texts for different subjects and topics. If you can find what you are looking for, the articles interest and engage the students. I like that the texts have suggested levels, and that they come with pre-made assignments you can assign to your students. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** When searching, it doesn't always provide relevant articles. It isn't super easy to find materials that you want. There could be better ways to search, including different topics/ categories to choose from. The keywords feature could do a better job of finding relevant articles. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Make it easier to search for articles with keywords and topics. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have found relevant and engaging passages for my students to read, but again, it can take a while to find them. Benefits include engaging my students with interesting articles. ### 16. Differentiated and current **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Katelyn S. | Advanced Composition Teacher, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 10, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** What I like most about NewsELA is that the readings are easily differentiated to meet every students need. The initial assessment places students and there are comprehension checks at the end of each reading to easily progress monitor. Articles are current and there are topics for any students interest. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** What I dislike most is that there is no way to track students actual reading of the articles or prevent students from simply guessing on assessment question. Because of that, data may be skewed. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Easy differentiation of reading levels; the benefit of this is more time for teachers to allocate elsewhere. Students can access work on their own which makes for easy access in class during extra work time or choice time. NewELA is also accessible at home for learning to continue beyond the classroom. ### 17. Reading Non-fiction Texts **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 27, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** I like that I can assign articles at each student's level of reading. I also like that it is free. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** I don't have any dislikes for the program. It is very useful in my classroom. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** This is a great resource to use for teaching non-fiction reading elements as it is easily related to real-life experiences. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am able to assign real world texts to the students. This is helpful for practicing text to world connections. ### 18. Great for mixed level students **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Andrew G. | Instructor, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 29, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** This is wonderful for our ESL students and even for our ABE students working at lower levels. Being able to read the same content at different reading levels is very helpful. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** It could add content that more closely aligns with tests like the GED and CASAS. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** It’s hard in class with students at different levels to give the same homework assignment. This allows students to choose their own difficulty. ### 19. News ELA in the Classroom **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 30, 2020 **What do you like best about Newsela?** The non-fiction topics are current and interesting. The fiction is age appropriate. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** There needs to be more questions and more variety of types of questions on the quizzes. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** It offers an additional avenue to digital content. ### 20. Newsela is a must for digital classrooms **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tara H. | Business Development and Scientific Product Management Intern, Education Management, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 22, 2019 **What do you like best about Newsela?** By far, the biggest feather in Newsela's cap is that it allows the teacher to adjust the reading level. I can set the article at a 5th grade reading level for my entire class, or, if necessary, I can shift the reading level in order to differentiate instruction. I can unlock a topic to all my students, regardless of ability. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** The quiz feature at the end of Newsela is, admittedly, a bit lacking. With only four questions, and only multiple-choice options, I definitely don't rely on it alone to assess my students' abilities. Readworks is a better software tool as far as assessment goes. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Newsela is an easy independent activity. I have a fully integrated digital classroom, so we use Newsela every week as a "centers" activity - it allows me to assign an article each week that the students can work on by themselves while I teach a small group. Newsela also provides great metrics: you can see if a student spends less than a minute on an article and "Christmas trees" the questions (answer quickly, at random), which allows you to reassign it to that student. They may also retake the quiz, in order to improve their score. I want to see 3/4 accuracy on their answers, so I make them do that. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** The ability to shift reading level is a bigger deal than you might think: now, the same article is accessible to all my students at their level. I can assign a 3rd grade level article to a student whose vocabulary is lacking, or assign the 7th grade version to a student who needs a challenge. Both are equally important. ### 21. A great tool for engaging students in current events **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 26, 2019 **What do you like best about Newsela?** Newsela makes it easy for teachers to find high-interest current event articles and assign them to students at a variety of reading levels. It pulls content from a variety of high-quality sources (AP, Washington Post, the Smithsonian, etc.) and presents the text at a variety of different Lexile levels to meet diverse student needs. The articles are updated daily, so you can find something that's in the news now and put it in front of your students. It also generates really easy-to-use data for teachers through short comprehension quizzes at the end of each article, along with optional free-response writing prompts. Furthermore, when I've had to contact Newsela's support team, they are very responsive and open to suggestions on improving the product. **What do you dislike about Newsela?** Sometimes the articles at the lowest Lexile levels are very short, so students finish them quickly. An option to adjust article length would be helpful to ensure students are getting enough text to read. **Recommendations to others considering Newsela:** Try out a free demo of the features you get with the Pro edition. The extra access to articles and the data-gathering features make it a worthwhile expenditure for your organization. **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** For teachers who are under pressure to produce meaningful reading data for their students, Newsela provides useful data on how well students are comprehending real-world texts. It also provides an excellent source of high-quality non-fiction texts that readers at various levels can access, allowing for class discussions where everyone can participate and saving a ton of time for teachers who don't have to rewrite the articles themselves, or find multiple articles at different levels. ### 22. Newsela review **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Primary/Secondary Education | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 17, 2019 **What do you like best about Newsela?** Newsela is great because it has various reading levels for the same article! **What do you dislike about Newsela?** Sometimes it can be hard to find an article for specific topics **What problems is Newsela solving and how is that benefiting you?** Solving the problem of inclusion for all in the school classroom ## Newsela Discussions - [Looking for Pricing](https://www.g2.com/discussions/27783-looking-for-pricing) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [View Newsela pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/newsela/reviews?section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-05-14+11%3A33%3A44+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=93107171-dd84-4a74-ba5c-e5ac2fbff274&secure%5Btoken%5D=2257fbd5cf499466e177e0655364fb279a4c6bf19fac525f0f2d9d5fef03eda0&format=llm_user) ## Newsela Integrations - [Canvas LMS](https://www.g2.com/products/canvas-lms/reviews) ## Newsela Features **Assessment delivery** - Question variety - Real-time assessment - Pre-made content **Learning Content** - Pre-made Content - Aligned to Standards - Multimedia Content - Gamification **Grading and reporting** - Automated grading - Gamification - Analytics dashboard - Reporting **Personalization** - Personalized Learning Paths - Adaptive Learning - Assessments **Administration** - White-labeling - Mobile compatibility **Reporting and Analytics** - Analytics - Integrations **Agentic AI - Digital Learning Platforms** - Cross-system Integration ## Top Newsela Alternatives - [Kahoot!](https://www.g2.com/products/kahoot/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (398 reviews) - [Canvas LMS](https://www.g2.com/products/canvas-lms/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (1,730 reviews) - [Blackboard](https://www.g2.com/products/blackboard/reviews) - 4.0/5.0 (1,015 reviews)