A news literacy framework that students, professors, and patrons can observe — not just be told to judge. Ten language-based signals, taught and assessed the same way every time.
What students see when they open the sidebar — and what makes the framework teachable on day one.
Students are told to "think critically" — but without a shared framework, every evaluation becomes subjective. Did the article seem fair? Who decides? The loudest voice in the room?
CSAF changes that. Because every signal is grounded in observable language patterns, students don't need to exercise subjective judgment about credibility. They identify whether the pattern is present. That is what makes it teachable, consistent, and measurable.
Every signal is grounded in language patterns — word choice, sourcing structure, framing decisions. Students identify patterns, not opinions. The framework removes "I think it's biased" from the conversation and replaces it with "here's what I observe."
CSAF maps to AASL, ISTE, ACRL, and UNESCO MIL frameworks — and is built to support the news, media, and information literacy mandates now in effect or under consideration in 11+ U.S. states. It works alongside the curriculum you already teach — not as a replacement, but as a shared analytical foundation.
The Knowledge Lens quiz measures framework comprehension before and after instruction — pattern recognition, signal identification, and analytical reasoning. Built so educators can show learning gains in observable skills, not self-reported confidence.
Students use Clear-Sight independently on real articles — not worksheets, not hypotheticals. The sidebar delivers the full framework analysis as they read, turning every article into a lesson plan you didn't have to build.
A pre/post comprehension assessment built around the framework itself. Students take it before instruction and again after. The comparison view shows where their pattern recognition actually moved — observable signal identification, not self-reported confidence.
Pattern recognition tasks tied to specific framework signals — not vocabulary recall, not credibility judgment.
Each student's performance broken down across the ten framework signals — surfacing the patterns they read well and the ones they need more practice with.
Side-by-side gains in observable comprehension. The artifact you bring to a department meeting, a parent night, or an institutional review.
Each tab shows one feature in action — what it looks like in the sidebar and how students use it during a typical article analysis.
What does this profile tell us about how this article was built? Students see the ten scores, the composite, and the visual fingerprint — and the conversation begins with data, not speculation.
Students see what the article is doing before they form an opinion about what it says. The framing choices, the language patterns, the structural decisions — all explained in plain language with evidence from the text.
Research Tools teaches the discipline of knowing what to look for before lateral reading begins. Missing context, claims worth verifying, timeline gaps, absent perspectives — the starting point for real investigation.
Introduce students to multi-source exploration — from article analysis to cross-referenced reporting. The framework gives them the starting point. Deep Research expands it into a complete research exercise.
CSAF builds on a decade of work defining what news literacy is — and what makes it teachable. Our framework operationalizes that research into an observable, classroom-ready instrument.
News literacy is the foundational gateway literacy — the skill that determines whether learners can engage critically with media, digital, and AI content downstream.
How CSAF builds on it: Our framework treats news as the most structured, observable form of persuasive media — and the natural starting point for skill transfer.
84% of teens distrust the news. 80% are inclined to believe online conspiracy theories. More teens think reporters are skilled at lying than informing.
How CSAF responds: Trust gaps don't close through telling students what to believe. They close by teaching students how to observe what an article is doing.
News literacy must be taught as the discipline of judging the reliability and credibility of information — distinct from media literacy, distinct from digital literacy.
Where CSAF extends it: We reframe news literacy from a judgment skill ("is this credible?") to an observation skill ("what is this article doing?") — the methodological shift that makes it consistently teachable.
Media and information literacy is the set of competencies that empowers people to engage with information and media content critically, ethically, and effectively.
Standards alignment: CSAF's ten signals map directly to UNESCO MIL competencies, AASL learner standards, ISTE digital citizenship, and ACRL information literacy frames.
Read the detailed methodology paper: News Literacy as Observation, Not Judgment →
Students learn to see how news articles are constructed — not just what they claim. CSAF scores emotional activation, sourcing gaps, framing choices, and push-factor language in every article. Ask Clear-Sight extends it: surfacing what the article relies on and what's missing, giving students a structured entry point for lateral reading.
Emotional activation, persuasive framing, and selective sourcing aren't unique to news — they're the building blocks of all persuasive media. Students who can name these patterns in a news article carry the skill into advertising, political messaging, and entertainment.
The same construction patterns appear in social media posts, viral threads, and algorithmically surfaced content. Students who can name these patterns in a news article can recognize them in a tweet, a TikTok, or a forwarded message. The vocabulary transfers because the techniques are the same.
AI-generated content tends to exhibit a specific construction pattern — high surface credibility paired with low depth. CSAF makes that pattern nameable. Students who learn the framework can identify the difference between authoritative-sounding output and substantively complete reporting — a skill increasingly required in every classroom.
One framework. Four literacies. Skills students carry from your classroom to every screen they see.
The full product, with limited credits — so you can decide if it fits your course, library program, or section before involving procurement.
When you're ready to scale beyond a single course or library session — volume seats, custom rollout, and direct support.
Pricing: 30-day demo is fully featured with no credit card required. After the demo, individual educators can upgrade or roll into an institutional license. Institutional pricing is per-seat and scales with headcount — typical deployments range from a single section to a full district. Get a quote →
For journalism, communication, English, and education programs. CSAF maps cleanly to course outcomes, gives professors a consistent assessment instrument across sections, and gives students a framework they carry into every media environment they encounter.
Request Campus AccessAligned to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. A teachable instrument for one-shot instruction, embedded library sessions, reference support, and adult patron programs. Gives librarians a shared method beyond "check the source."
Request Library AccessBuilt for the 11+ U.S. states with active K-12 media literacy mandates. Aligned to digital citizenship and digital wellness standards. Simple enough for independent student use, substantive enough to anchor a full unit.
Bring to Your SchoolA language-based news literacy framework that extends your existing programs, gives your community a shared analytical practice grounded in observable patterns, and puts measurement in the hands of every learner you serve.
Explore PartnershipStart with a free 30-day demo. No credit card required. The demo is the full product — every feature unlocked — with a credit cap of 10 article analyses and 4 Clear-Sight AI questions. Enough to evaluate the framework with a real class or section before involving procurement.
Institutional pricing is per-seat and scales with headcount. A single high-school section, a department, a campus, and a full district are all common deployment sizes. Pricing depends on volume, deployment requirements, and PD scope. Request a quote.
Yes. The Clear-Sight extension requires a login to use — this is how usage is attributed, Knowledge Lens scores are tracked, and institutional seats are managed.
For individual educators and students on the 30-day demo: quick email-based sign-up via the sign-up page. No PII beyond the account email.
For institutional deployments: SSO (Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra) and roster-based provisioning (Clever, ClassLink) are not available out of the box today, but we'll explore the integration with you as part of an institutional engagement. Let us know your environment when you request access.
Clear-Sight is built for institutional environments. We collect no learner or patron PII beyond the account email, store no article content beyond what's needed to render the analysis, and process all extension activity over encrypted connections.
For higher ed and academic libraries: FERPA-compliant by design (no education records collected). Accessibility — we test against WCAG 2.1 AA and provide a VPAT on request. The ALA Library Bill of Rights and the patron-confidentiality posture libraries expect are honored: no patron-identifying logs, no targeting based on what someone reads.
For K-12: COPPA and state-specific data-privacy agreements (NY Ed Law 2-d, CSDPA, SOPIPA, etc.) signed as part of procurement review. Data Privacy Impact Statement and our security questionnaire responses available on request.
CSAF maps directly to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy — specifically the frames around Authority Is Constructed and Contextual, Information Creation as a Process, and Information Has Value. The ten signals give librarians a concrete instrument to use during a one-shot session, an embedded course module, a research consultation, or an adult patron program.
Common deployment patterns we see: academic libraries embedding it in first-year writing, communication, and research methods courses; public libraries running adult patron workshops or making it available as a research-room tool; library systems licensing it across branches as part of digital and information literacy outreach.
Chrome and Edge on desktop and Chromebook. The extension installs from the Chrome Web Store; institutional deployments can push it via Google Admin Console / Microsoft Intune for managed devices.
Works through standard school content filters. Compatible with most LMS environments — Clear-Sight is the analysis layer, not the LMS.
Individual educator: 5 minutes (install extension, sign in, start analyzing).
School / department pilot: typically 1–2 weeks — primarily IT review and managed extension deployment.
District / campus rollout: 2–6 weeks depending on procurement timeline, security review, and PD scope.
Not out of the box today — but we can explore it with you upon request. If SSO (Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra) or rostering (Clever, ClassLink) is a requirement for your deployment, tell us when you request institutional access and we'll scope the integration as part of your engagement.
Framework documentation and starter teaching notes are included with every plan. Institutional customers receive structured PD options — typically a one-hour onboarding plus an asynchronous self-paced track for additional faculty. Custom workshops, including alignment-mapping sessions for AASL / ISTE / ACRL outcomes, are available for districts and higher-ed deployments.
Most existing news literacy curricula teach judgment — "is this article credible?" CSAF teaches observation — "what is this article doing?" Every signal is grounded in observable language patterns: word choice, sourcing structure, framing decisions. Students identify whether the pattern is present, not whether the outlet should be trusted. That methodological shift is what makes the skill consistently teachable across classrooms, measurable across cohorts, and transferable to media, digital, and AI literacy. Read the methodology →
Try the full product free for 30 days — the fastest way to see if it fits. When you're ready to scale to your campus, library system, or district, we'll talk institutional.
Chrome & Edge browser extension. Works in institutionally-managed environments. Login required — SSO and rostering explored upon request for institutional deployments. Privacy policy