LightSide was a startup involved in developing software that could rapidly evaluate student writing. In seconds, the firm's software could grade an essay on multiple rubric scales and highlight the writers strongest and weakest passages on each dimension. It was claimed that independent research had repeatedly shown this technology is as accurate as human graders, looking for features that human graders look for like content mastery, style choices, and genre awareness. Lightside founders were using machine learning to develop a writing assistant that would offers feedback and suggestions as students work through their drafts. Dubbed the Revision Assistant, the online tool, designed for students in grades 6-12, highlights passages and offers comments on ways to add details and clarity to create stronger arguments, based on rubrics and prompts set by the teacher. Very shortly after having received their SBIR Phase I award, the firm was acquired by Turnitin (formerly iParadigms) in October, 2014. The acquiring firm is known for having develeped a popular plagiarism checker that is used in many schools
